Ancient Children
by RandomDarkness
Summary: She cannot die, nor ever lie, but never be believed. Godric and Eric become embroiled in a three thousand year old curse, and the legacy of the Gods will be decided by the strength of their love for their family, such as it is. M for a reason New chapter is NOT an indication I'm starting up again, just a little rounding out I though it needed.
1. Arriving 1

_Six months ago_

Stan hissed, his face contorted in barely controlled disgust. The tiny woman before him was cool, controlled and completely composed despite his fierce appearance. He twitched his hands as though to lunge for her but a sharply barked command from Godric stilled him.

"Stan!" The much smaller man said, and Stan knew to back down. When he moved aside Godric saw his tiny, ancient looking visitor and smiled gently. "Please, sister," he held his hands out to the diminutive nun and when she came forward and took them, he kissed her hands gently. "You look well."

"I look old, Godric," she said teasingly, and behind her eyes was the twinkle of impishness he had seen in her when she was younger. "You, of course, are handsome as ever."

Stan snorted and moved to the side, his entire demeanor announcing louder than words his disgust at Godric entertaining a member of the clergy in their nest. Godric pointedly ignored him and led his guest to a chair. "What can we do for you sister?"

"To be honest, I've come to beg a favour..." Behind her in the rapidly growing crowd of vampires, Stan was grumbling knowingly.

"Anything," Godric said firmly, without reservation.

The old nun looked at him gratefully. "We have a young woman in our care at the convent," she said carefully. "To be honest, we don't know much about her at all. We found her, terribly injured, in the street near the church. We've cared for her as best we can, but she wont tell us who she is... she wont talk at all truth be known."

"Surely she should be in a hospital," Godric suggested, "perhaps a mental health facility if she is troubled..."

"And she would be by now... but a number of men, representatives from the Vatican, came and looked at her." He lent in close, her withered old hands gripping his tightly. "They wouldn't tell us anything, but they were scared of her. Terrified. I've never seen anything like it, and two days later we received word that one way or another, her time at the convent had come to an end. We were to turn her out!" She nearly sobbed the last, "How is that Christian, Godric? What could scare them so much they'd put a frightened girl out into the world on her own?"

Godric frowned, "I don't know... You want me to take her, bring her here?"

"She needs a gentle hand, and no one's hand is gentler than yours." She smiled, "you know as well as I do, my church is not perfect Godric. Whatever it is about this child that scares them, she's just a young woman."

"Alright, sister. Bring your ward here, I will talk to her." he looked sideways at the nun who was blushing slightly, "ah, unless you decided there was no way I would refuse you, and she's here already. In the car perhaps?"

"I merely have faith in your goodness dear," she teased him gently.

"You manipulate me shamelessly with your smiles, sister," Godric laughed and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Bring her in, we will see what we will see."

Within a few minutes, word was dispatched to the car and a somewhat nervous looking young priest ushered a cloak-wrapped form into the lounge room. The nun beckoned her forward and with a resigned sigh, the girl pushed her hood back and moved forward. She wore a simple, modest, white linen dress and Godric realised it must have been something the nuns had given her.

"Hello," Godric said carefully, trying out a gentle smile, to see where that would get him.

"It's alright dear, Godric is a good friend." The sister told her, and the girl nodded, bowing slightly to him.

"You will not talk to me?" He asked. She smiled apologetically, but said nothing. "Well, what shall I call you?"

"We've been calling her little sister," the nun told him, "she's quite bright and helpful. Once she was up and about she started working in the gardens. Our tomatoes have never been so big!"

"I see. Is little sister agreeable to you?" he asked, still hoping to get some sort of indication that she COULD talk. Unfortunately for him she smiled again and nodded.

"You're doing favors for the church now?" Stan grumbled.

"I do favors for whomever I choose. Sister Angela has been a great friend to our kind, and to me." He said firmly. "Are you afraid of a human girl, Stan?" Godrics eyes were cool and mocking.

"They are trouble. Constant trouble, and if their own church distrusts her,"

"Then, I would think, you would be curious as to why." Godric interrupted. He looked at little sister carefully and lent forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Tell me, little sister, do _you_ know what so scared the men of God?"

Little sister bit her lip, then stood a little straighter and nodded firmly, defiantly.

"I see." He stood ad held his hands out to her, beckoning slightly for her to come forward. It took a moment for her to screw up her courage, but after moment she came forward and gave him her hands, allowing him to step in close and look into her eyes. They were of comparable height, but she felt somehow like he was huge compared to her. "Are you dangerous, little sister?"He asked softly, feeling for her pulse through her hands to try to see if she would lie. She made a sadly mocking face and looked for a moment like she might cry before shaking her head, no.

Godric stared at her intently for a moment and then lent closer to whisper conspiratorially, "I believe you." Little sister's eyes widened and she swallowed hard, gripping his hands tighter. The expression was past in a moment and Godric wondered at her reaction. "Would you like to stay here, with us?" She bit her lip and looked around at everyone. "You would be safe here. If you need protection, I can provide it." At last she nodded and, in a strangely old fashioned gesture, lifted his hands and kissed his knuckles lightly. "Very well. Sister, you may send anything of hers from the convent, we will organize a room for her here. Then, maybe, once you feel comfortable, you'll explain to me how a lovely young woman so frightened the church."

Little sister blushed helplessly under his slightly cheeky gaze, hints of the boy he must once have been peeking through from behind his eyes. She turned and reached out, again, in a gesture that seemed much older than her, she touched Sister Angela's face gently, her eyes sad.

"You're welcome, child." The sister said and little sister's smile seemed even sader.


	2. Leaving 2

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One_ week ago_

"You've adopted it," Eric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Her, Eric, her."

"Her my arse. I don't know what it is, but it isn't human, surely you can smell that."

Godric sighed and passed a hand wearily over his eyes, leaning back in his chair and hoping little sister was far enough away that she couldn't hear them. "She makes herself useful, she's pleasant company, and it was a friend who asked."

"Ah yes, Stan mentioned the nun. A nun, Godric? Where would you even have met a nun?"

"At church."

"At what? You must be joking," Eric gaped.

"I met sister Angela at church, before she took her final vows. It must have been nearly forty years ago now. She was very kind..." He seemed distant and wistful.

"What were you doing at a church?"

"The same thing everyone does at church, Eric. Speaking to God." Eric rolled his eyes but Godric ignored him. "Little sister is my responsibility, and no concern of yours."

"You're insistence on referring to it that way is somewhat disconcerting..."

"You have been too comfortable for your own good for some time now. It will do you good." There was a small smile turning up the corner of Godric's mouth, and Eric was once again caught trying to catch a glimpse of the boy his maker used to be before he was touched by death. Sometimes it seemed that young man was hiding behind the aged wisdom in his eyes, waiting to emerge and do something teenage-crazy and devilishly naughty.

"So you're babysitting it to teach me a lesson?"

"I'm watching her because sister Angela asked me to. Because she's frightened and alone, and because it's the right thing to do." He lent forward so he could look through the doorway into the kitchen where Little sister was puttering around, still wearing the simple linen dress the convent had given her, preparing the meals for the human companions. "She seems to have found something to keep her entertained."

Eric watched his maker with a worried expression. He'd been worried about him for some time now, worried about his distant looks and his vague talk of souls and morality. The man who had taught him how to be was becoming someone else and Eric wasn't at all sure how to handle that. When Little sister came back carrying a true blood on a tray Eric snorted as Godric took it and thanked her. She looked at Eric with a eyebrow raised in question.

"Certainly not," he said firmly.

Little sister shrugged and looked to Godric. "I'm fine, thank you little sister. I believe Isabel is taking you to a movie tonight, is that right?" She smiled broadly and nodded. "Would you do me the honour of allowing me to accompany you?" She blushed rosily and looked demurely at her feet, casting glances at him through her lashes. Godric laughed and waved her off, "I do not believe for one moment that you are shy, little sister. Go, get ready." She hurried from the room, ignoring Eric's incredulous look. "What?"

"Nothing at all."

"Eric," Godric said, a note of warning in his voice.

"Honestly." Eric flashed his maker a grin, "I find it... cute. You're two thousand years old and you're taking a girl to see a movie."

"Is it sick that I think her company might actually be so refreshing because she doesn't speak?" Godric asked distractedly.

"I always prefer it when they don't talk." Eric said perfectly calmly.

Godric laughed and lent back in the chair. "Ever the chauvinist, yes?"

"When women speak it is almost always to admonish men. Silence is better." Eric stood and turned to look down at Godric with an amused smirk, hiding his concern for the time being. "Go to your entertainments. Perhaps you should bring her a corsage?"

"That's quite traditional of you."

"Bull shit. Traditionally I'd bring her a stag I had personally hunted and killed." He smirked again as Godric gagged a little on his true blood, trying not to spray it in his mirth. "It is good to see you laugh..."

Godric looked up at him seriously and reached out, taking his hand and holding it for a moment. "I am fine, my child... just weary."

"Then by all means, enjoy your pet. But watch it closely..."

Godric watched Eric leave, it had been good to see him. It seemed between their various responsibilities they hardly found the time anymore. It was true he hadn't seen a movie in many years, not since they had first started coming out in colour. He didn't have to go, obviously, Isabel was more than capable of looking after Little sister on her own. Isabel, however, always took Hugo with her, for which Godric couldn't fault her, but being a third wheel was never particularly fun. His first thought had been to go with them to even up the numbers so she wouldn't feel left out. That had been the day before, but since then he'd stopped thinking about Isabel and Hugo, their inclusion seemed almost incidental. He was going to see a movie with a girl. The sudden rush of amusement almost made him giddy. Perhaps he _should_ get her a corsage?

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Up in her room, little sister sat at the simple vanity in the room. Light, varnished wood surrounded a plain mirror, from which her blushing reflection looked back at her. She pressed her cool hands to her flaming cheeks and tried to breathe evenly. This was stupid. Unbelievably stupid. She should leave. Run.

She looked over her shoulder at the heavy leather cloak lined with soft lambs wool, the only thing she had from before her time at the convent... her oldest possession, though in truth it had been mended so many times none of it was original anymore. Still, it gave her a feeling of continuity which would otherwise be completely lacking in her life. Continuity was all very well, but staying with vampires was insane. Perhaps that was it then? She'd finally lost her mind... she'd been waiting for it for a long time anyway...

"Are you ready?" Godric asked from the door and smiled when she turned to face him. "Come, Isabel will be quite upset if we're late."

Little sister took his hand, and Godric noticed that hers was trembling slightly, though her face had taken on the passive, distant expression she sometimes wore and he had the feeling he was looking at a mask. "Are you alright?" He asked gently. The look she leveled at him was stern, concerned, and far too old to come from her smooth round face. She knew. Godric didn't know how she knew, but he was sure that she did. Little sister reached up and touched his face sadly, regretfully and Godric could have sworn he could almost _hear_ her question. "Everything will be fine, little sister, you will see." He told her with as much conviction as he could muster. If the worst came to worst, Isabel would look after her, of that he was sure, though he didn't think saying so would help anything.

Little sister sighed and pointedly pulled her hand from his grip and let it drop to her side before gathering up her cloak and putting it around her shoulders. It amazed Godric no end how thoroughly she could admonish him, how perfectly she could tell him exactly what she thought without saying a word. '_If you're bent on doing it, then why should I let you be kind to me? Let you make me care for you... If I'm going to be alone, best to be alone from the beginning'._ He heard it all clearly, as clearly as if she'd screamed it. It was expressed in her face, and punctuated by the turn of her body away from him, the way she wouldn't let him take her hand or guide her to the car.

The movie was a tense affair. Isabel and Hugo, affected by the stony distance between Godric and his ward, barely touched. They sat, stock still and stared intently at the screen seeing nothing of what happened. Godric spent more time glancing at the side of little sister's face than following the plot. He'd hoped this would be a pleasant night, something to remember fondly, instead she wouldn't look at him.

Many hours later, not long before dawn, little sister stood at her window and looked down on the street. She watched Godric close and lock the door behind him, saw him turn and look up at her window. He tried to smile reassuringly, but she only stared down at him, stony faced, she would not cry. "Stay with Isabel," he said quietly, somehow sure she'd hear him. "She will look after you." She snorted and continued to stare until he turned and left...

She knew it would take less than two days for Eric to return. No one needed powers to see that. The Fellowship of the Sun would take days to work out what to do with their willing hostage. Eric would come back, and maybe, just maybe, this could still be salvaged.


	3. Interogation 3

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_Nowish_

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"Where is it?" Eric asked, his body taunt with his tightly controlled rage. He hated being out of control.

"She's upstairs in her room." Isabel didn't even have the energy to argue with him any more. Godric had been gone less than two days and she was already fraying at the edges. Stan was preping for something foolish and it was all she could do to stomp his neck.

"Come with me," Eric said shortly to Sookie.

She shot him a dirty look but followed him towards the stairs, bumping into him when he turned sharply to glare at Bill. "You remain here."

"I will not. Sookie is under my protection,"

"And in this room that means less than nothing." Eric ground out through clenched teeth, though his hands had shot out to steady Sookie before she rebounded onto her ass. "It's not dangerous, but it is timid."

"Little sister isn't going to hurt your human," Isabel said tiredly. "As far as we can tell she's just a strange girl."

Eric snorted at that but didn't argue. "Whatever she is, she doesn't talk. Sookie can get around that for me. You are a vampire she doesn't know,"

"You're suggesting she trusts you?" Bill said sarcastically.

"That would be foolish. She knows me, more importantly she knows Godric knows me."

"Hey!" Sookie stomped her foot in irritation and shook off Eric's hands which had stayed on her shoulders. "I am perfectly capable of bein' more than three feet from you Bill. Eric needs me right now, he's not gonna let anything happen to me. I'll be fine."

"I do not trust him."

"I trust him to be Eric Northman. He'll play real nice, least until we get Godric back." She turned and looked up at him defiantly. "Wont you?"

"Of course, miss Stackhouse," He rumbled down at her.

Sookie shook her head in irritation and stepped past him up the stairs. Truth was that his mood swings made her dizzy sometimes. No one else she'd ever met could go from homicidal rage to child-like amusement and back again that fast. Eric followed her up, much closer than she might have liked but she thought saying something would just give him ammunition so she kept quiet.

"What's her name?" Sookie asked softly.

"No one I've spoken to knows. The nun who brought her here called her little sister... she didn't seem to mind it so that's what they call her." He shrugged.

"She's so sad..." Sookie whispered, stopping in the hallway to try to get a grip on emotions and thoughts that weren't hers.

"Stop a moment... tell me what you hear now, before we talk to her." Eric said, a calculating look in his eye.

"She's... I dunno that she's thinkin' anything, nothing I could translate for you anyway. She's just sad, and scared. Also I think she knows you're here." Sookie looked up at him in surprise for a moment, "it's OK for us to go in now."

"She told you that?"

"Sortof... Eric you know I can't explain what I do exactly... You either have to trust me, or not. I can't make you understand it." She said helplessly, feeling again that creeping panic she experienced whenever she talked about her 'gift'.

Eric surprised her by putting a hand reassuringly on her shoulder and squeezing gently. "I do trust you." She was so taken aback that she didn't even think to shake his hand off. He gave her a shy smile, or at least a good facsimile of one, and gestured to the door for her to go in. "After you."

"Hello...?" Sookie called softly, pushing the door open. Little siter sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes were red and her dark hair a mess. "Oh honey..." Sookie gushed, hurrying forward and putting her arms around the girls shoulders. Eric stood back and watched in mild interest at the instant bond that can spring up between crying women. "It's OK, we're gonna get him back. Eric brought me all the way from Louisiana, we're gonna find him and bring him right back, you'll see."

A mildly hysterical chuckle erupted from the mute girls mouth and she looked up at Sookie, then glanced at Eric, who was surprised by the more composed nod she gave him in acknowledgement.

"Where did he go, little sister?" Eric asked firmly, out of no where.

Sookie was ready, they'd used this tactic before. It was almost impossible not to think the answer to a question if you know it when someone asks. She stared intently at the girl beside her and heard... nothing. It was like she'd pulled a big curtain around herself, then, clear as day, Sookie saw a heard of wild horses running through the grass. "Well?" Eric asked.

"She's... How're you doin' that?" She lent closer, but little sister just smiled sadly. "She's blocking me somehow. That's... that's amazing. How did you learn to do that?"

"Blocking you how? Does she know the answer or not?"

"I don't know," she glanced back up at Eric. "Her mind does exactly what she wants. I've never met anyone who could do that before. Right now she's showin' me horses and that's _all_ I'm gettin'."

"Dig harder." Eric said flatly.

"You don't understand, if all she wants to show me is horses, that's all I'm gonna see. She's just not thinkin' about what you wanna know. I don't jus' _know_ things Eric, she's gotta think it."

Eric snarled and surged forward off the wall, knocking little sister backwards onto the bed and covering her body with his, his hand firmly around her neck and his fangs grazing her skin. "TELL ME!"

Sookie squeaked and fell sideways off the bed and sat up on the floor to look at them wide-eyed. "Eric... she's... she's not afraid of you."

"She will be when I drain her half to death," He growled.

Sookie was shaking her head though, "She does want to tell you... but she can't."

Eric glared down at the girl beneath him who's calm was rapidly eating at the edges of his control. "Why not?"

"She's thinkin' about the vampire downstairs... the one in the cowboy hat."

"Stan? Does he have something to do with this?" He demanded.

"No, I don' think so... she's afraid of what he'll do. I think she's afraid Godric wouldn't like that he'll do." Sookie scooted forward and put her hand on Eric's shoulder, urging him to let the girl up. "She'll show me what happened, but only if you promise to handle it the way Godric would."

His eyes flared angrily "I do not enjoy being manipulated."

"She doesn't really enjoy bein' strangled, either." Sookie tugged on his shirt. "Let her up. We'll talk, and I'll tell you everythin' you need to know. You keep our deal, about not killin' anyone, and control Stan, and that'll be enough. She'll talk to me then."

"Is it possible for her to lie to you?" Eric asked, his grip eased somewhat but he didn't let go.

"Normally I'd say no, but to be honest I'm not sure... she's thinkin' that she wont lie, but her mind is so different, I don' know how much control I've really got over what I'm seein'."

"If he dies, because of your delay, you will follow him."

Sookie didn't understand the moment's pain and the self mocking humour she felt projected at Eric's threat. Then her mind was filled with what little sister saw from the window, Godric walking out into the night on his own, telling her to stay here with Isabel... then all she could see was Steve Newlin and it seemed like a lifetime's worth of anger was threatening to drown his image.

"The Fellowship. She's sure, he left real early in the mornin' so no one'd notice and... she _really_ hates Steve Newlin."

"You're suggesting he went willingly?" Eric said slowly, his grip loosening even more. When little sister nodded and started crying he let her go and sat up. "Why would he do that...?"

Sookie saw a mental image of a young man with pale skin and old eyes, gently holding little sister's hand, walking with her through a garden, defending her from Stan, gently trying to coax her into talking to him. The telepath looked down sadly, "Oh honey..."

"What?" Eric looked at her sharply, "Does she know?"

"I'm not sure, she just... she loves him very much. She's angry he decided to go though,"

"So am I..." He stood and straightened his jacket. "I need more than the translation of a mute pet to give the others." Little sister looked like she might hit him but he held up his hand, "I believe you, it confirms my own suspicions, but we need more information."

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**NOTE*** OK, from here, assume they use the same plan as the show. Sookie goes with Hugo, Hugo's a big douch, Eric exhibits some Douchiness of his own having Bill trapped in the hotel blah blah blah. You've all seen it so I wont bore you all with a straight up re-write. Next chapter will pick up just after the 'rescue', back at the Dallas nest.**


	4. Boom goes the dynamite 4

**NOTE****Picking up on the way home after all the business at the church. I'm not going to try to re-write it, it'll just be a second-rate rehash and who needs that?**

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Vampires seemed to like to run everywhere. Sookie thought she'd still use a car, even if she were super fast. Clinging desperately to Bill's shoulders as he ran through the night, surrounded by other streaky blurs of super-fast vampires made everything seem surreal and dreamlike. Off to the left, Eric ran close to Godric, seemingly unwilling to let his maker out of his sight. They whispered to each other constantly, but Sookie couldn't make any of it out. At one point Godric looked over at her and gave her a gentle, encouraging smile. She could see clearly why little sister was so taken with him, or at least, she thought she could.

At the house, little sister sat fidgeting with the hem of her dress on the front doorstep, for which Isabel immediately admonished her.

"You should be inside, the street is not safe tonight," She said firmly, but her hand came down on the girl's shoulder. "Come in... the street is no place for reunions..."

In the main room, it seemed little sister had kept herself busy by laying out enough true blood for a small army, as well as little sandwiches cut into quarters and beer and wine. Isabel blinked and shook her head, sometimes she was sure Godric only kept the kitchen stocked so little sister had something to do.

"Oh hey, food." Jason said and happily fell in on a plate of ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches. "Mmmmph, that hits' the spot, seriously." He levelled the full force of his thousand watt smile at little sister who blushed and slipped a little further behind Isabel. "Oh, no, no I'm better now. I wasn't ever really an asshole, I promise I'm jus'... sometimes people talk real fast an' I can get kinda' carried away in their bullshit. But, honest, I'm cool." He held up his hand as though swearing on a bible and little sister had to giggle a little.

Isabel smiled and shook her head, "Little sister hasn't spoken since she came here, she is here under Godric's protection."

"Oh," Jason just kept on smiling, though he had the sense not to try to shake her hand. "You'll be wantin' to see 'im then. He's right over there," He pointed, happily convinced the pretty girl would be thrilled and then started hitting the little sandwiches again.

Godric had moved to the edge of the room, avoiding as best he could the never ending stream of questions he was sure would need to be answered eventually. He hadn't honestly believed they'd kill him, they were just afraid, and even if they did... they might learn something from the experience. Looking across the room at little sister, he had the distinct impression that she knew exactly what he'd been thinking, and that she didn't approve one bit. A slightly more optimistic part of his mind had expected her to rush to his side, to hug him and smile at him, and he was shocked by the stab of painful surprise when she didn't.

Eventually he was forced to take his seat and accept the endless words of various lackeys, flunkies and otherwise clueless locals. There were a few highlights, however. Sookie and her brother chief among them.

"You have both done a great service to our kind," he told them with a smile as they clutched at each others hands. There was history there, and anger, but as with many things, the nights events seemed to have pushed them into the past. "Know that you will always have friends in Dallas, and a safe place, should you ever need it."

"Thank you sir," Jason said, his face a little lost at all the ceremony.

"We're glad you're back safe, everyone was real worried about you..." Sookie said, her eyes flicking to Eric, who sat by his maker's side and then towards the kitchen where she knew little sister was fussing with things that didn't need fussing with.

Godric knew a gentle rebuke when he heard one, and smiled at the humans audacity, genuinely pleased by her complete lack of fear. "I am lucky to have the best of vassals in Dallas, and friends, in my home."

Once it was done, Eric said something about getting him a human to feed from, but he wasn't particularly interested. He felt guilty for making them all worry, in truth he hadn't considered that such an outpouring of emotion would be possible for them.

"Just go, speak to her, Sookie has assured me she worships you to much to remain angry for long," Eric said at last when it became clean his maker wasn't really listening to him.

For a moment Godric entertained the idea of playing dumb, but thought better of it. He wouldn't belittle his relationship with his child like that. "She is... quite wroth with me."

"My human mother used to say that men were born to do stupid things," he smiled slightly, "and women were born to forgive them."

Godric thought about that for a long time before getting up to go find little sister and accept the scolding he was sure must be coming.

In the kitchen, little sister dropped a plate and one of the human companions hurried over and put a hand on her shoulder in worry. With wide, horrified eyes, the mute girl spun and punched the worried human in the face, flooring him. She huffed for a moment and then carefully arranged the body so it looked like he'd tripped, then she hurried through the party, grabbing human companions and dragging them to the kitchen, all while carefully avoiding Godric, who was still looking for her. Thankfully he was distracted by Bill and that awful vampire who made him.

Having carefully herded the humans into the kitchen where they all fussed over their unconscious friend, she ducked back out to find Eric.

"What is it?" He asked as she hauled hard on his arm to get his attention, then pointed imperiously at Sookie. "You want her to translate?"

Little sister shook her head so violently Eric thought he may have said something offensive. She stomped her foot and pointed again, then shoved him hard with her shoulder in that direction. "You want me to go over there? Little sister... are you playing match maker?" The look she gave him completely dispelled that idea. She stomped hard on his foot and shoved again. "Alright, alright," he wandered in that general direction, grumbling about Godric and his insane pets.

The grumbling slowed and stopped though, as he watched her hurry around the room, shoving at furniture. She moved a couch, with three people sitting on it, about two inches further from the wall, then removed an abstract art installation and shoved it under a table. With half the room starting at her as though she'd gone mad, she put her hands on her hips and looked around, then let out the breath she'd been holding and hurried towards the kitchen, where Godric had discovered the unconscious human and unlike the others was not fooled. It was obvious to him that the human had been punched, by someone who wasn't overly strong but knew exactly where to hit him.

"Little sister, I know we need to talk," he put his hands on her shoulders and started to move her to the side, "but we have a problem. I need to speak to the other's someone has..." He stopped, as she'd started struggling and looking worriedly over her shoulder. "What is it? Stay here for just a moment, I'll be right back with Isabel."

As he made to move past her, she panicked and did the only thing she could think of... She reached up with both hands, grabbed his face and kissed him, hard. At two thousand years old, Godric couldn't remember ever being so surprised in his life, so surprised he didn't know what to do with his hands or how to respond to the warm body that was moulding itself tightly to his cold one. All of this became a moot point, however, when she pulled back just enough to whisper against his lips, "I'm sorry..." then his house exploded and they were both thrown across the kitchen.

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He would never understand how it was she managed to roll off him and disappear before he pulled himself back together. At vampire speeds it must have been less than a minute, but when he blinked at the carnage through the doorway, she was no longer pressed against him, nor could he see her among the humans who were huddled down behind the counter, well protected from the blast but terrified all the same.

"Little sister!" he yelled, though suddenly that name seemed... spectacularly wrong.

Half in a panic, Godric hurried through the doorway into the remains of his living room. It was unrecognisable. The couches were blown over, it seemed this had protected a number of vampires who'd been sitting on them, as they were now pulling themselves out of the rubble. Across the room he could see that Eric had covered Sookie's body with his own, but he was alive and well.

"Jason!" Sookie screamed, "JASON!"

Godric saw her brother pull himself out from under a mound of what could only be dead vampire, look around dazed and give his sister two thumbs up. Much to the ancient vampire's surprise, he then turned around and helped Isabel hauling debris off vampires who were trapped near the door, asking her breathlessly. "How can I help?"

Isabel gave him a grateful smile and nodded to those trapped. "When I lift, you pull them out."

Jason was about to say something but thought better of it, "Right... right. Stronger than me... sorry, not used to that idea." He bent down and spoke softly to the two women, "You grab on an arm each and we'll have ya outo' there in a jiffy... that's it. We're ready down here, aint we ladies?"

Proud beyond words, Godric moved on, searching the wreckage for little sister, but she was gone. Damn it. Some time later, Eric found him, having made the necessary phone calls and organised the hotel security. "Everything is in readiness. Godric... your human..." Godric looked at Eric sharply, half fearing to hear the worst. "She knew. Somehow, she knew, I would bet my life on it."

"Knew...? About the explosion? Explain."

"She king hit one of the human companions, he's just woken up. Then, she rounded up all the humans in the house and had them caring for him in the kitchen..."

"Protected by the marble benches..." Godric said softly.

"Exactly. She also came to me and... instructed me to stand close to Sookie, she knew I would protect her. Then she started messing around with the furniture. I am convinced she saved many lives tonight."

"She kept me in the kitchen, panicked when I tried to leave... Eric, she spoke to me."

"What did she say?" Eric asked curiously.

"She said she was sorry. Then the bomb went off and we were both thrown across the room, but when I looked for her, she was gone." Godric looked around sadly. "This was my home, I liked it here."

"And you are alive to build a new one. Perhaps, had you been in this room, you would not be."

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She sat sadly in a coffee house in the city, nursing a bottle of iced tea and firmly suppressing the childish urge to cry. They were vampires. She could never have stayed there anyway, it was stupid and dangerous. Lives had been saved though, and that was more than she'd ever managed before, more than she had dared to dream for longer than she could clearly remember. Godric was alive, and that was a massive difference, huge, irrevocable. The tiny flame of defiance that she had nurtured in her soul flared brighter. '_How do you like that?'_ She thought defiantly. '_I made a difference. I changed it, and you couldn't stop me.'_

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**NOTE*** ahhh don't you just hate it when I do that? S'OK, I swear, next chapter you'll know her name, and what she's doing, and why it is that she's associating with vampires (no, it's not just cuz they're hot).**


	5. Godtouched 5

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She'd actually started thinking of herself as 'little sister'... it happened sometimes. Her own name was almost a curse-word to her, a symptom, she had defined it for all time and now that the curse was forgotten, people had started using it again. It taunted her, to hear her name called on the street... for so long no one would use it, but it seems everything can be forgotten, given enough time.

Sleep had eluded her, so she spent the day hiding from the sun under the dense canopy of trees in the park. Day time was all very well, but it still felt like being watched, and she'd become used to being nocturnal. As her eyes fluttered shut, the curse came on again...

_Godric was smiling sadly at Sookie, Eric was leaving. As the sun rose over the roof of the hotel, the ancient vampire removed his shirt and walked towards the sunrise... Sookie was crying..._

_ "Are you very afraid?"_

_ "No... I am joyful. I want to burn."_

No... NO! She lurched to her feet and looked around, horrified and frightened. She'd been convinced for a long time that her tormentor had perished with his brethren at the end of the polytheistic age, but surely this had to be him! It _**had **_to. He was toying with her, trying to undo what she'd done. It would all go back, back to the way she'd originally seen it if he died! Angry and frightened, she hurried out of the park towards the city, arguing with herself as she went.

She'd never managed to change anything, why should this be any different. She was stupid to think it would be so easy... one kiss and she'd kept him away from the bomber, of course it couldn't be that easy.

Leave it. Just let it alone, she told herself firmly. Haven't you learnt yet that you can't do anything? That's the point of you, the whole reason you're still alive. Stop being a stupid child and just leave him alone. If he wants to die, who are you to deny him what you can't have?

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Eric cried, something that shocked Sookie so badly she didn't know what to do with it. He fell to his knee's, his head bowed, "Please..." Sookie didn't understand the language, but she didn't need to. Please feels the same in all languages. "Please Godric..."

Sookie didn't understand the rest of what was said, but it seemed like Godric was sending Eric away... The huge man got to his feet and walked past her slowly. She hated him, God she hated him so much she seemed to burn with it, but curse her stupid bleeding heart she reached for his hand anyway. She couldn't stand to see that kind of pain in anyone. "I'll stay with him... as long as it take." She said softly.

Eric's eyes were disturbingly red, his face smeared with blood and he squeezed her hand weakly in gratitude. Then he was gone. Sookie moved forward, watching as the pre-dawn light flared around Godric's body, making him glow. Looking like that, with a distant serenity on his face, Sookie thought he looked holy.

"You will watch over him?" He asked.

"Who Eric? You know how he is..."  
"I'm afraid I am to blame for that too." He smiled slightly, losing himself in memory.

"Eric's pretty much himself," She bit her lip and glanced at the sun. "Are you very afraid?"

"No, I am joyful. I want to burn." He saw her tears and his head tilted, his own eyes tearing slightly. "You are a beautiful person... I am privileged to have you to cry for me..."

Then he turned away, caught in his own moment, Sookie thought he might actually forget that she was there... the sun was coming and he took off his shirt and let it fall to the side. Sookie found herself mesmerised by the strangely compelling tattoo's on his back, at least she was, until a blur of white and brown streaked past her and tackled Godric to the ground. Sookie screamed, not sure what was going on as little sister flared her cloak out and, laying lengthwise over Godric's body, covered him with it.

"NO! No, you don't get to win today. No. I don't care, he's not going anywhere!" She pulled the fur-lined hood forward and cocooned them both inside the heavy layers of leather and lambs wool.

"You ran away," Godric said, quite calmly, looking up at her round face curiously. "Why?"

"We don't have time. It'll start soon, I have to get you inside." She looked around and heard Sookie moving, "Find me something! Something to cover him with!"

"I... Like what?"

"Heavy drapes. Blankets, anything! Go!" She was panicking, "Pull your feet in damn you," She hissed at him.

Godric wordlessly bent his knee's, forcing her to lay wedged between his thighs. "Little sister..."

"Shut up... this is so stupid," she hissed to herself. "Shit... shit shit shit." She held her wrist to his mouth, wincing, "Bite. Now."

"I will not," Godric protested, confused and to be honest, a little angry.

"Sookie is taking too long, a few minutes from now... by the time she gets back, you'll be so offended by the sight of me, you wont be able to control yourself. Bite, damn it. Drink. It'll buy you enough time to get inside out of the sun." She pressed her wrist against his mouth but he grabbed it and glared up at her.

"Who are you?"

"We don't have time for that,"

"Make the time."

She sighed and slumped against him, " I am... god-touched... the youngest daughter of Priam..."

"Cassandra..." Godric breathed in awe.

"Please, bite. Curses are always two sided, I'm touched by Apollo, my blood will protect you from the sun, at least for a little while. Please!" She gasped when he nipped her and took a mouthful. "Now go! Get inside!"

"What about you?" He asked, sitting up and squinting as the cloak fell away and the early morning sunlight fell across his face.

"You're only safe out here for a minute... Once it wears off, the sun is the only protection I have."

"Against what?" Godric frowned, unable to take his eyes from the vision of the city bathed in light.

"Against you, you've heard my voice. It's already starting. Soon you'll... you'll kill me. Get inside!"

"I would never hurt you little... Princess Cassandra," he said carefully correcting himself.

"The gentlest men in the world have all said that, with perfect conviction... and within an hour stoned me to death. You can't stop it." She sobbed, "Please, just go."

"But I don't feel anything like that..." He held his hand out to her, "I wont hurt you. I swear."

Cassandra sighed and let him pull her up, resigning herself to being drained to death, again. She'd long ago established that a complete loss of blood wouldn't kill her, but she was afraid that the guilt which would follow might drive Godric right back onto the roof, and she wouldn't be able to save him again. As they reached the stairs, Sookie reappeared with a heavy set of dark grey drapes and nearly drove Godric to his knee's trying to cover him with them.

"Sookie! I'm alright... Please, help me get Cassandra inside."

"Cas..." Sookie didn't argue, she just got out of the way as Godric led the little woman down the stairs.

"You took a great risk, to save a single vampire," Godric said to her gently at the bottom of the stairs.

She sniffled and looked up at him. His gentle face, his kind eyes which any second now must harden and despise her... "Not just one... everything comes back to you. Without you, there will be war, a war without a victor. Just war... forever."

"But, the legend says you can't change anything..."

"In three thousand years I have never managed to change a single thing... I thought I'd saved you at the house. I knew you'd work it out, I had to get Eric to save Sookie and he's too smart not to get there eventually... Once you know, it starts so... I thought you were safe. But then I saw... I saw you burning anyway." She started to cry in earnest and Godric wrapped his arms around her gently.

"I have not lain eyes on an older woman in a long time," He said softly, trying to lighten the mood.

She laughed against his chest and then, suddenly looked up, frowning. "Why aren't you getting angry? Don't you feel... disgusted?"

"By what?"

"Me..."

"Of course not."

"But that's how this works... once the words come out, that's what happens. The prophecy and the prophet are so repugnant they drive you mad. You feel bad afterwards, you don't understand how it could have happened but..."

"Cassandra, I don't feel any of that." He looked over at Sookie who was watching, slightly embarrassed, "Sookie, how do you feel?"

"I... I think I can feel it, sortof. But... I could never kill anyone," She tried on a weak smile.

Cassandra looked back and forward between them, her eyes filling with fresh tears. "Tell me, tell me you believe me." She grabbed the back of Godric's neck firmly and looked into his eyes, "say it! Please! Say you'll live."

"I believe you," he said, gently reaching back and pulling her hands from his neck, gripping then tenderly in his own. "I'll live. It's alright."

Her knee's gave out and she fell against him helplessly, only Godric's arms wrapping quickly around her kept her upright. "I did it... I changed something. Do you hear me! I changed something!" She screamed wildly, "Burn in hell, you son of a bitch. I won!"

"Sookie, would you go get Eric please..." Godric asked as calmly as he could with an hysterical prophetess trembling violently in his arms. "And perhaps call reception to have some food and wine brought to his suite?" He turned his attention back to Cassandra, who was shivering and mumbling to herself in an ancient dialect of Greek which pre-dated even him. "Shh... it's going to be alright, princess."

Sookie hurried off, shaken in the extreem by what she'd seen, and the affect it was having on her. She could feel quite plainly what Cassandra had talked about. This awful, sickening revulsion coiling in her guts, like Cassandra was the biggest liar ever, like everything she said might be designed just to screw the world over. She knew it wasn't true, and somehow she was able to shove it far back in her mind, but it was still there, and that made her feel dirty.

Eric's door was open, so she didn't bother to knock. He'd know who it was anyway. She found him sitting on the edge of his bed, shirt off and blood dripping freely from his eyes. He didn't look up at her, but spoke slowly and carefully to the wall in front of him.

"It's madness... I can still feel him..." he managed to turn his head to look at her. "Is this what it was like when your parents died?" He asked, and she wanted to hate him for the way the question punched her in the guts, but found that she couldn't.

"No... this's what it would be like, to have someone tell me they're still alive," she held her hand out to him, "c'mon... maybe wash your face first. Little sister's with him." Eric simply wiped his face with his shirt and stood, grabbing her hand, ready to follow her. "Oh, hold on," she grabbed the phone and pressed 0 for reception. "Hi, yeah, could we get some food and wine sent up please? Ya, ya this room. Oh, I have no idea. Whatever you think is nicest. Thank you!" She hung up and pulled Eric towards the door.

"Sookie... not that I'm complaining but," His eyebrow was raised in confusion.

"Not for me, you big tool. Godric asked, for Cas... um... little sister. Jus' come on." She led him out and up the stairs, not noticing she hadn't let go of his hand, and he wasn't about to point it out.

"Godric..." Eric stopped and watched his maker holding his pet tenderly while it raved in some unintelligible language. "That is the worst Greek I have ever heard."

"No it isn't... it's the oldest Greek you've ever heard. I don't even understand most of it." Godric scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards them. "We have much to discuss. Is there room in your suite for two more?"

"Of course. You are..."

Godric sighed, there was going to be a long and painful road back to trust between them. Eric wasn't the kind to ignore the fact that Godric has responded to the plea's of a stranger and not those of his child. " I am. Something has come up... I would not leave you with such a mess. Lead the way. I will explain when we are safely away from any possible overhearing."

Sookie was led along behind Eric, who still had a hold of her hand. The whole business had rattled her so badly she hardly noticed that she was dead tired. That Bill would be waiting for her in their room, or that Eric, shirtless and shaken, was holding her hand gently but desperately, as though she were the only thing in his world that still made sense.

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**Note**** There! Took a while but I got there! I've got a bit of a yen for ancient history/myth so... this just occurred to me and wouldn't go away. I have to say, I was a bit miffed, watching the most recent ep of True Blood, I SWEAR I had Cassandra's blood being an effective sunscreen BEFORE I watched it! I swear swear swear!**


	6. Lonely 6

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Godric lay Cassandra gently on Eric's couch and crouched down next to her, stroking her hair and fevered brow with one cool hand.

"What's happened to her?" Eric asked, sitting on the coffee table.

"It's just shock I think. To be honest, I haven't ever seen anything quite like it. Hopefully she'll come out of it on her own." Godric said, deeply concerned.

"Godric, who is she?" Eric lent forward, all his attention focused tightly on the strange girl mumbling to herself on the couch.

"This is Cassandra, youngest daughter of King Priam... of Troy."

Eric raised a sceptical eyebrow, "you have more than just her word for this I take it...? Cassandra is a three thousand year old myth. In all my life, and yours, no one has ever suggested she was real. How can you account for that?"

"She must be very good at hiding," Godric looked over at him, frowning. "She did know about the bomb, Eric. She knew because she saw it. She came to the nest to... to save me." He looked back down at her. The worst of her shaking seemed to be past and the mumbling had stopped, but she looked wild-eyed and on edge.

"And why would a three thousand year old princess want to save a vampire sheriff? Don't think I'm not grateful, but manipulation on that level always has it's own agenda. What does she want? Not to mention, how is she still alive? Isn't her mere presence supposed to make people violent?" Eric asked.

"It doesn't seem to work on vampires. Your friend, Sookie, can feel it, but she seems to be able to control it." Gordic and Eric both looked at Sookie who was gnawing on her bottom lip.

"What do you feel Sookie?" Eric asked.

"Like... like everything about her is a lie." She said, ashamed of herself, "it's like there's this little voice in my head, sayin' awful things about her. It's... I didn't feel like this before..."

"It's her voice, she said on the roof. The prophesy is linked to her voice, and the knowledge of what she is. That's why she wouldn't speak." Godric smiled gently at Sookie, understanding her discomfort. "It isn't your fault, child. You're being forced to feel the way you do, it's to your credit that you can think past it. Eric, perhaps you should take Sookie back to her room, being here is making her uncomfortable and you and I have much to talk about."

Eric stood but Sookie backed away, shaking her head. "I can find my way on my own, it's OK."

"I am sure you can... but it is in the nature of old men to worry. Please. Eric and I do not have much time before the sickness becomes so acute that we must sleep. Many things must be settled before then."

Sookie relented and Eric wordlessly took her arm and tucked it around his own. She wasn't exactly sure what to do with that, but he started walking so she didn't have much choice but to follow.

"Are you OK?" She asked once they were outside.

"Fine. Tired." He stopped short of her door and looked down at her uncomfortably. "I owe you... more than I can ever repay." He said carefully. "I don't like that, but it's true just the same."

Sookie looked back up and him, frowning seriously. "Godric's a wonderful man... I'd 'av done it anyway, even without our deal. You don't owe me anything, Eric."

"Honour doesn't work like that." He said shortly, raised her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly, but bizarrely without his usual sexually charged stare. "Good day, Sookie." She watched him leave, her expression blank, but with the sinking feeling in her stomach that maybe she'd lost something she wasn't going to be able to get back.

Eric made his way quickly back to his suite and found Cassandra sitting up with Godric urging her to have a glass of wine. "Is it wise to ply humans with alcohol? I thought that was frowned on?"

Godric glanced at him and waved his hand dismissivly. "People have become foolish on the subject. When I was a young man it was rude not to offer wine to a guest."

"Is that what I am?" She asked quietly, cupping the glass between her hands and staring into it, ujnable to look at them.

"What do you mean by that? You've always been my guest," Godric said firmly.

"And five minutes from now... when you tell him how useful I can be... will 'guest' still be the word then?" She tilted her chin towards Eric whose expression darkend.

"How useful_** can**_ you be?" Eric asked but Godric waved him off.

"Nothing has changed Cassandra... I will not let anyone hurt you," Godric told her, reaching out to take one of her hands, but she flinched back and he shot her a hurt look.

"Everything has changed!" She hissed, "I was a curiocity, a random entertainment, you both said as much. Now, like your telepath, I'm just another comodity... Three thousand years. I've been mist and rumour for three thousand years, and I'm going to end up in some vampire basement!" She started to cry, soundlessly, over her wine.

"It would keep you out of trouble at least," Eric mumbled, Godric shot him a dark look before turning back to the crying girl on the couch.

"If you thought so little of me, why come back? Why save me?" He asked her.

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand. "Maybe I've finally gone completely mad... Sister Angela was so sure and... when I saw what happened without you, I had to try. I always have to try..."

"What do you mean, you saw what happened without him?" Eric asked, sitting back on the coffee table, dark smudges were starting to build under his eyes... he'd need to sleep very soon.

"Godric was going to die... in the blast at the nest. I saw it, the night Sister Angela brought me to him. After that, everything went incredably wrong. You brought every vampire you could trust to Dallas, and took over here... then you went to war with the fellowship of the sun. They... they killed Isabel and, well, you get the idea." She lent back, taking a large gulp of her wine. "When it was done, I thought he'd be safe, but I'd given myself away so I had to run... but I was in the park and I saw him burning, here on the roof. The war took longer to start but..." She looked at Godric steadily, "without you, Eric becomes angry and violent. He is miserable and alone and... he takes humanity with him."

Eric was frowning deeply and Godric looked at him, his eyes sad and deeply ashamed. "I'm sorry... I didn't know that would happen," he said softly. "You're saying you did this for humanity, then?" Godric asked her after a long pause.

She shrugged, "I can't help it." She looked up at them both sadly, "it's part of my curse... I have to care..."

"What's going to happen now?" Eric asked through a yawn.

"You have to be more sepecific than that, the future is large..."

"Alright, what have you seen that specifically changes because Godric is still alive?"

"You. The sight is a bitch of a thing... technically I can only see the worst of what's to come, but the problem with that is there's a lot of stuff I can piece together from the background. With Godric alive, he's with you whenever something goes wrong... so is Sookie... without him, you're alone."

"Eric... go to sleep. You're starting to look ill," Godric patted his child's leg and nodded towards one of the bedrooms.

"I'm fine," Eric started only to be interupted by Godric's raised hand.

"Go. Sleep. None of us is exactly running out of time... we can continue this tonight." Eric nodded and stood, slightly unsteadily, and headed for the bedroom.

Cassandra glanced up at Godric nervously. "What are you going to do with me?" She asked softly.

"Do you want to leave?" He responded, trying to force her to meet his eyes.

"I don't want to be a sunscreen despenser..."

"Cassandra... I will not allow anyone to force you to do anything you don't want to do. You knew that three weeks ago, why don't you know it today?"

"Three weeks ago the only thing anyone wanted from me was an hours diversion... you do realize that access to my blood could change the course of history? An army of vampires who could move around during the day..."

"Then we simply wont tell anyone," Godric said firmly. "There is no reason for it to come up, if we're careful. What are you really scared of Cassandra?"

She couldn't look at him, but stared down into the dark depths of her wine glass. "I haven't slept in the same bed so many nights since before... I suppose that bed is gone now, the explosion,"

"Are you really thinking about a familiar bed, Cassandra?" Godric asked gently, leaning forward and tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear, allowing his finger to trace the line of her cheek as he pulled away. She shivered and her eyes drifted shut.

"I always try not to look at faces. It's easier not to get attached that way. But I know your face... I know your eyes and your smile. Vampires frighten me, more than anything else. I'm not strong, or resilient... I just can't die. I know what that means, for a vampire." Her eyes opened, shining with emotion, "It's been so unbearably long since I spent time with anyone I thought could understand... who could see what immortality really is."

"Are you afraid of me?"

Her bottom lip trembled and her face contorted terribly. "Yes... I wanted to_** be**_ little sister. Just another girl. I could trust you when I had nothing for you to take..." she sobbed.

"I do understand... I can't do more to reassure you. If you let me, I will protect you, but I wont force you to stay," he ducked down lower so he could look into her eyes, "however much I might want you too."

"Don't say thing's like that, Godric..." She mumbled.

"Why not?"

She finally managed to meet his eyes and what he saw made him feel a terrible wrenching pain in his chest. "Not even vampires are truly immortal. I am. Your friendship may last longer... but not forever."


	7. Stay 7

**Sorry guys, LTNS, school's been insane and I've had to ride myself pretty hard to get all this stuff done on time. This week is still pretty mad but I didn't want anyone to think I was dead! This is probably my fav story and I want to follow it all the way through season three as well so... I'm trying very hard not to fall off the writing wagon.**

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The argument with Bill had been particularly unpleasant, probably because he was so tired. She felt a stab of guilt at how worried he'd been, it was so hard for him to stay awake during the day, but her guilt gave way to annoyance when he continued to press her on where she'd been.

"Jus' go to sleep, we can talk about it tomorrow, you look awful."

"I will not. You are visibly shaken and you have Eric's blood on your dress!" He told her firmly.

Sookie looked down and cursed under her breath, sure enough there was a smear of Eric's tears on her dress, and more of it on the hand he'd been holding now that she looked. "He was crying..."

"Eric does not cry."

"He cried for Godric, I've never seen anything like it..." She sighed and sank down to sit on the bed. "He was so broken..."

"It is done then?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, something happened... they're in Eric's room."

"What happened?" He asked, sitting beside her.

"I'm not really sure I can talk about it right now, Bill. I want too... but. I wasn' even really involved and I still felt it all. I'm sure there'll be explanations tomorrow night. Can we please just go to sleep?" She looked at him pleadingly and he helplessly relented.

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Godric had left Cassandra on the couch and gone into the bedroom to sleep beside his child. The little princess stared off into nothing for a long time, trying to decide what to do. She could run... she was even half way sure that if she did, he wouldn't chase her. She'd be alone again though, and if she was honest with herself, she was going mad with the loneliness. The sound of her own voice was strange and foreign to her and the idea that she might be able to tell another soul the things she was thinking, the things she could see, was so tempting as to feel slightly sinful.

In all her thinking, she tried very hard not to see his face. His ancient eyes, the soft curve of his mouth, or the smooth gentleness of his hands. That way lay true madness. In the end, somewhere around lunch time, she curled her great cloak tightly around herself and went to sleep on the couch. Trusting a vampire was insane. Staying in one place too long was insane. Believing, just for a moment, that she could really pit her will against that of a god, even a dead one, was utterly insane. Yet at sun down, when Godric emerged from the bedroom, she was still there, asleep on the couch.

"I told you in the beginning she was trouble," Eric muttered, standing with his arms crossed over his chest looking down at the sleeping girl.

"You say it so often it has lost all meaning," Godric retorted gently, setting up a platter of fruit and toast for when she woke up. "Besides, her risk is significantly greater than ours."

"Knowing the future is not the same as controlling it, and it is clear to me that controlling her will be impossible."

Godric frowned, "why do you say that?"

"We're talking about a woman who defied a god... for three thousand years. She's still here and the god that cursed her is long gone. What does that tell you?" When Godric just looked at him, Eric threw his hands up in irritation. "It tells you that she's even more stubborn than I am! You can keep anyone out of trouble if they're meek enough but _**that **_woman will not be able to help herself. Within six months, half the America's will know we've got her because now she's been given a little encouragement, she's going to start righting wrongs where she sees them!"

Godric was smiling slightly as he shrugged. "What's wrong with that? I don't think you are right, by the way. I think it will be quite some time before she's confident enough to do any such thing, but I don't see a problem with it if I'm wrong."

"The problem is she makes humans homicidal and there wont be a vampire in the world who wont want her. She knows that, it's why she's been so careful. She can't defend herself, at all, and you know what that leaves..."

"Us." Godric said firmly, setting the tray down on the coffee table. "If Cassandra agrees to help us, we could change everything. Protect our kind, and the humans, ensure a peace..."

"Sometimes you are totally naive." Eric said insolently.

"Perhaps... perhaps after three thousand years it seems there is no optimism, nor pessimism... merely the choice between hope and despair." He sat on the coffee table and looked at Cassandra carefully. "You do know that I can hear your heart beat... It is difficult to feign sleep to a vampire." Her eyes popped open guiltily, one after the other, and she bit her lip. "Breakfast?"

She nodded and reached for a slice of fruit, then noticed Godric was frowning. "You aren't going to go back to not talking to me, are you?"

Cassandra blushed, "Sorry... it's a habit I suppose. Thank you... for the fruit."

"You are welcome." He smiled then and for a heartbeat it seemed like a perfectly normal breakfast. "Does this mean you have decided to stay?"

"If you'll agree to a few things," she said carefully.

Eric snorted. "Here it comes..."

"I want as few people as possible to know," she said firmly, ignoring Eric's snark. "and of those that do... what happened on the roof must stay between us." She looked at Godric, her shoulders set squarely and her mouth a grim line.

"As you wish." Godric nodded. "In the interests of hiding you, I think we should look to your wardrobe. More normal clothes will make you less noticeable. You can remain with me, as my companion, my name and age should be all the protection you need."

"If one hundred years from now I'm not locked in a mouldy basement handing out prophecy by the hour for a crust of bread, I might start believing you..."

"Perfect. What are we going to do now?" Eric asked, his arms still crossed over his bare chest. "You can only see disaster, how exactly is that helpful? You can't tell us the right thing to do."

"That's true. So you keep deciding to do things, until one of those choices makes whatever it was I saw, not there any more. Then you worry about the next one." She said, as though it were the simplest concept in the world.

"But you've never changed anything. Do you have any reason at all to believe that will work? Or are you just running on blind faith in a god that hated you?"

Cassandra's bottom lip trembled for only a moment and then she pulled herself under control. "He didn't hate me, Eric. The gods killed people they hated... you only torture someone you want something from." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "And no, I don't have anything to base it on, other than the fact that the nightmare I saw without Godric has changed now... it's different. So, I'll try to change it again, push the disaster further and further away..."

"Until what, exactly? Heaven on earth?" Eric snorted.

"I'm not an inbred back-birth from the north," Cassandra grated in irritation. "There _**is**_ no heaven for me, vampire. There isn't even a hell. I have no where to go. For all I know, ten billion years from now when the very ground beneath our feet has eroded to nothing, _**I**_ will still be here! I will see our sun expand and fry our world. I will watch everything that walks today, die, and every one of their descendent too. Don't talk to me about heaven you selfish lump of dead flesh! What does it matter to you if I only put off ragnaroc for a thousand years? Like as not you wont see it!"

She was breathing heavily and Godric, afraid she was on the verge of another episode like she'd had the night before, moved to her side and tried to put his arm around her shoulder but she shook him off angrily and stood. "If you wont help me, I'll go. I _**can**_ change the future, I know now that I can. Even if it takes another thousand years to find someone to help me."

"Cassandra, no one is saying we don't want to help you," Godric said reasonably, standing and moving towards her. "Eric," Godric looked at him angrily.

Eric sighed and barred Cassandra's way. "I will not call you princess..."

"Since we're not calling people what they are, I will not call you a howling savage." She glared up at him defiantly.

Eric's arms flexed as he tensed his muscles, resisting the urge to reach for her neck and throw her across the room. "You are not unbreakable little girl..."

"I die a lot. You get used to it."

"Stop this, both of you!" Godric's voice had risen and they both turned to look at him in surprised. Godric hadn't yelled at anyone in a very long time. "You are both being short sighted and foolish! Are you really prepared to throw away a chance to change the world, Eric? Just so that you can continue to play the arrogant Viking? I know you better than that." Eric looked slightly contrite, but only if you looked very hard. Cassandra, who was still glaring at Eric defiantly, flinched when Godric put his hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him. "I know you are afraid. I know you cannot trust easily. There is no quick fix for this. If you stay with us... with me, you will learn to feel safe and to trust again."

_That's what I'm afraid of_ she thought sadly, looking up at his face. She was truly afraid that she could indeed learn to trust him, tell him everything, but how quickly does that turn into relying on him? People don't think about how much they need other people during the course of a normal life. The people they need are simply there, but when you wake up every day and can't share yourself with anyone, can't trust a single soul... the need for others becomes a constant pain that cannot be pushed to the back of your mind.

"Cassandra... I would like very much for you to stay with me..." Godric said in a much gentler tone. "You are the only person I know, who is actually older than me. You were already a legend when I was a child. I think perhaps that was why I so enjoyed little sister's company... your years were in your eyes, even if you wouldn't share them with me."

"... If you'll keep my secret, then I'll stay..."

Godric nodded. "I swear. Now you must tell us where to go, and what to do." He smiled at her when her face went pink with surprise. "You are the prophetess... we are just muscle."

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**I'm trying to work out some sort of schedule whereby I don't post 5 times in one day and then not again for two weeks. My organisational skill s are somewhat lacking though, so... don't hold your breath. **


	8. Hold 8

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"It isn't like I can just pull the future out of thin air whenever I feel like it." Cassandra said, backing away from Godric, having become painfully aware of his hand on her shoulder.

"We understand that." Godric said gently, "how _**does**_ it usually work?"

"If I try to, I can usually pick out the next big, awful thing that'll happen to someone... if I'm touching them. Then, sometimes, something so big is coming that I can't stop it. The prophesy just comes out whether I want it to or not. That's what usually gives me away. There's nowhere to go that doesn't have disasters occasionally." She sighed.

"Alright. Do you know about anything on the horizon now?" Godric asked.

Cassandra frowned, hugging her cloak tightly around her to cover her trembling. "Not clearly... but I think you should do, whatever it is you would have done if I wasn't here. I have this feeling Sookie is going to need help... very soon..."

"With what?" Eric asked, suddenly more interested.

"I'm not sure exactly. Her life right now is one long disaster, it's all twined in together and it's hard to pick it apart in any kind of order. This isn't exactly a science..."

"It's alright. I would have returned to Shreveport with Eric anyway, having given up my position here. We can proceed with that and see where it takes us." He gave Cassandra the most understanding look he could manage. "There is no pressure in this. I am confident we can accomplish great things, but I doubt very much that it will happen tomorrow." She smiled, shyly, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I thought you might like to ask Sookie if she would agree to go shopping with you tonight. This city never sleeps, and I am sure that apart from the pleasure of her company, being able to communicate with someone might be helpful for you."

Cassandra blinked for a moment and shook her head. "I can't... I can't go over there. There's another vampire over there and... I've been living entirely on your good graces for months now. I couldn't go shopping even if I wanted too!" She said, becoming more confident as her rant went on.

"I'll go and ask her," Eric said, heading for the door, but Cassandra reached out and stopped him.

"It's alright, money is of very little consequence to us. You would have to work very hard to spend enough to concern me." Godric told her with a smile but she kept her hand on Eric's arm, looking up at him and seeming more confident than she had all night.

"Do not antagonize him." She said firmly. Eric made to pull his arm from her grasp, but she held on stubbornly. "You won't help yourself! What you want _**can **_be yours, vampire, but not if you continue to be an ass."

"I thought you couldn't see things that went well." Eric said carefully.

"As a prophetess... no. But no god can hide what a woman can see. Control yourself. Be calm, do not rise to his baiting. Deliver the message and leave. Trust me..." She looked at the hand that gripped his arm and pulled it back like it had been burnt and looked suddenly tiny and contrite.

"If it helps at all, I think she's right." Godric told his child.

"I do not enjoy being toyed with..." Eric grumbled.

"Neither does she..." Cassandra mumbled petulantly, her mood swinging wildly from timid to sarcastic so fast Godric wasn't sure what to make of it. Eric said nothing as he left, but his eyebrows were furrowed as he contemplated the prophetess' advice.

"You're testing him deliberately," Godric ventured once they were alone.

The eyes Cassandra turned on him were cool again, calm and distant. "Maybe. I don't particularly understand why I do anything any more, and it's not like I can ask a shrink."

"I wish you would not push him so hard... he _**is**_ trying."

"Trying is not enough. I've been trying for three millennia and millions of people have suffered and died." She snapped, then her hands flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes widened terribly. Before Godric really knew what had happened, she was crying, great shuddering sobs over which she had no control. Not knowing what else to do, Godric hurried to her side and put his arms around her, but couldn't decide if that helped or not. Her crying became worse, her trembling more violent, but she bunched her fists in his shirt and wouldn't let go.

The truth was that Godric could barely remember what it was to feel anything that intensely, that uncontrollably. He had no idea how to help her.

"When I was a young man," he said gently into her hair, "I would have gone to my father, to ask for half the grain harvest to take to your father... to prove to him, in the manner of my people, that I valued you highly... that I could take care of you, provide for you and our children." The timbre of his voice was low and nostalgic, and Cassandra found that she could remember clearly what it was like to be a young woman... that in her childhood it was common to fall in love and be married all within a month to a man you would be with the rest of your life.

"My father would have found that pleasing... and amusing." she sniffed. "He would have expected to have to pay a dowry to find me a husband... his crazy youngest daughter." She smiled through her tears into his chest. "He was gentle, my father, and gave me much freedom. In front of everyone, the entire royal court, he would have caused a scandal... and let me choose."

"And what does the princess of mighty Troy have to say to the son of a grain farmer?" Godric asked, finding a bizarre comfort in this strange nostalgic game they were playing.

"That if he plucked up his courage enough to brave the courts teasing eyes and jeering... he is more than enough of a man for the King's youngest daughter... who has no more ambition in life than to be happy." Her tears had become silent, regretful rather than hysterical. "And my father, having no need of your tribute, would have gifted me your grain, to take back with us... to help ensure strong grandchildren to remember him."

"I would have taken you back to my fathers town. A small place, far to the north, but rich in love and family... and everyone would faint away with wonder that Godric had wooed a princess and brought her home with him..." He stroked her hair and kissed it, "you would have been the most glorious thing any of them had ever seen."

Cassandra didn't look up, and her tears didn't slow, but at least her sobbing had subsided. "I hate everything..." she confessed softly. "Men and women with their families... even the squirrels in the park who pair off for spring... part of me, the part that grows every day, _**wants**_ to find pleasure in the things I see... I'm turning into a monster." She whispered the last in a small, terrified voice.

"Apollo was unforgivably cruel to you," he tightened his arms around her, "but you are still here, and he is gone." He tilted her face up, forcing her to look at him and found her eyes red and her face splotchy with raw emotion. "You must have been, at one time, the strongest woman in the world. Three thousand years of pain cannot be undone in a single day, or a week, or a year... but there is much time yet, and we can fill it finding her again."

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Eric stood in front of Sookie's door and was consumed with a vast irritation with himself. He was actually attempting to prepare himself to follow Cassandra's advice. By the time he knocked, he was probably in worse shape than he had been to start with. Stupid girl, she'd only been talking for twelve hours and she was already messing with his head!

"What do you want?" Bill asked, before the door was all the way open.

Eric swallowed the snide remark and the acid tone, and the bile that went with it and ignored the bait. "Godric asked me to talk to Sookie and ask if she'd be willing to accompany little sister on a shopping trip tonight." He said, carefully emphasizing 'little sister' when Sookie looked up at him and was glad when she nodded slightly, indicating she'd caught his meaning.

"Sookie has done enough favors for you," Bill started but was cut off by Sookie whose face had darkened dangerously.

"Bill Compton! Little sister can't talk, I'm the only person she's ever been able to communicate with! Let them both know I'd love to take her shopping, I'll be ready to go in an hour." She said firmly, daring Bill to argue.

The reward for his self control was the look on Bill's face at having Sookie side with him instead of her lover. "Thank you. I believe it means very much to her," Eric said, choosing his words carefully, giving Sookie the control she needed to make it clear to Bill that this wasn't a favour to Eric... if that was what she wanted.

"She's a nice girl... an' she was so scared when Godric was gone." She gave him a grateful smile and Eric wondered at how simple it had been to get her to look at him like that.

"I will accompany you both then," Bill said.

Eric's eyes widened but he didn't say anything, he looked at Sookie intently, willing her to read in his mind that Cassandra wouldn't take well to having a vampire she didn't know following her around. Sookie was already shaking her head, "We'll be fine, Bill. This is for little sister, and she's so timid... you'd scare her." Again, the look of gratitude she shot to Eric behind Bill's back made him feel better, even than rubbing it in Bill's face would have.

"It's not safe," Bill started but Eric cut him off.

"If it would help... I could ask Isabel to go along. Little sister knows her, and I imagine another woman on a shopping trip wouldn't be a problem?"

Sookie's smiled was surprised and bright, "thank you, Eric. That'd be great!"

Bill didn't seem pleased, but he couldn't find anything to call Eric on without making himself the bad guy. "Alright... but please keep your phone on you..." He looked at Sookie with genuine worry in his eyes. With the mess at the church and then the bomb, he was experiencing a spectacular amount of anxiety that he was convinced wouldn't pass until they returned to the relative safety of Bon Temps.

"I will let little sister know you're on your way. Godric will be providing a certain amount of funding for the outing... you should consider it a shared amount... as an expression of gratitude for all you've done." Eric nodded and ducked out of the door.

Before he'd gotten down the hall, Sookie had caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "Hey! I'm not going to spend Godric's money, Eric."

"No one is saying that you have too, but it is there, should you see something you like." He half went to put his hand on her arm, but changed his mind making it look like he twitched violently.

"What's wrong with you?" Sookie asked. "You're not... you don't seem like you." Her hand found it's way to his elbow and Eric was surprised at the concern in her eyes.

"Godric has convinced... little sister, to stay. I foresee complications."

"She loves him a lot, y'know..."

"Exactly... She's not stable, Sookie. She was having mood swings this morning the likes of which I've never seen before. There is no way to predict what she'll do."

"Eric..." Sookie sighed and lent against the wall looking up at him. "She's risked everything for him, jus' like you would. I know you wonna protect him, but if he's so sad and alone... He wouldn't be just yours anymore, but maybe he'd be happier...?"

"Or she'll be the end of him..."

"Isn't that the same risk everybody takes though?" She smiled encouragingly. "If they can share something, something real, then everyone needs to respect that and try to help them see it through." She looked down at her feet and then glanced at the doorway down the hall to make sure Bill wasn't watching. "Thank you... for... y'know... not turning it into a big fight."

"I told you... I owe you more than I can repay. I'm sure she'll be ready whenever you are." Eric turned and walked off up the hall.

Sookie watched him go with a frown. Somehow, this new Eric unsettled her entire world.


	9. History and Future 9

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"I had to tell him Isabel would go with them." Eric said as he came through the doorway, finding them in each others arms didn't surprise him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that all of this could go terribly wrong at a moments notice.

"I am sure Isabel wont mind." Godric told them both, "And she knows how to get by without asking too many questions. You will not have to speak, if you prefer not too."

Cassandra nodded gratefully and started to smooth down the front of her dress. "I feel better knowing someone will be keeping an eye on you both. This incident with the Fellowship of the sun is only beginning, I can feel it."

"I'm afraid I have to agree. I will feel much better once we are safely away from this city." Godric looked at Cassandra, his expression as calm as ever but his eyes were dark and troubled.

There was a soft knocking at the door and Eric opened it to see Sookie standing in the doorway with Bill beside her. She didn't look particularly happy. "Bill, I'm fine. Isabel is comin' with us and it's not like we're goin' to bars or anything! We're goin' to the mall."

"Once Isabel arrives, I'll go back to our room and see to our travel arrangements." Bill said firmly.

"Eric and I will also be returning to Shreveport, you are welcome to travel with us." Godric offered. Sookie smiled at him but Bill shook his head.

"We will make our own arrangements."

Sookie sighed.

_"He seems... forceful."_ Cassandra thought, clearly directed to the telepath.

Sookie smiled at her. "He's just worried about us, that's all. Don't worry though, it'll be just us girls."

_"Isabel knows nothing... and we prefer to keep it that way. I couldn't speak in front of humans anyway."_

"Everythin'll be OK, I can hear you just fine." Sookie smiled and Cassandra nodded her thanks.

"I would prefer to go with you..." Bill said carefully, looking at the woman with long dark hair who seemed to be half hiding behind Godric.

"Bill, stop it." Sookie chided him.

"Believe me," Godric told him, hugging Cassandra to his side gently, "little sister is very dear to me. I would never leave her unprotected, and Sookie has proven herself a great friend to our kind... Isabel will see to their safety."

"Do you know the cause of her timidity?" Bill asked Godric conversationally, making Cassandra tense at his side half from fear and half just bristling at being talked about like she weren't there.

_"Because you're a magically animated corpse who lives on blood?"_ she thought sarcastically.

"We are vampires... is that not enough?"

"She seems well accustomed to you," Bill pointed out.

"Little sister was brought to me by sister Angela. A nun from St Mary's convent... she asked me to care for her, as the convent couldn't..." he smiled down at Cassandra, still tucked away safely under his arm. "She said little sister was special..."

"And is she?"

"She has become so to me," Godric told him firmly, "and in the end, that is all that matters."

"Bill, you're bein' very rude." Sookie hissed at him, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Pardon?"

"You can't jus' talk about someone like they aren't there! Little sister isn't deaf, she can hear you just fine, can't you?" She looked at Cassandra apologetically, who nodded slowly.

"My apologies miss, I meant no disrespect."

_"They never do..."_ Cassandra thought sadly.

"Perhaps, now that you can communicate with Sookie, you could tell us your real name?" Bill asked, genuinely trying to redeem himself.

_"Shit... should have thought of that I suppose. Tell him Cassie, but that little sister is fine."_

Sookie smiled, "she says her name is Cassie... but, she sort of likes little sister too."

Eric had been studiously keeping his expression neutral, he hated having to trust the situation to the control of another. Through the entire exchange, Godric had seemed completely calm, as though he already knew how everything was going to play out.

The rest of the meeting was uncomfortable as Eric stoically refused to engage with Bill at all, other than to offer him a true blood and politely inquire about his travel arrangements. Sookie watched Bill probe at the edges of Eric's resolve, and become progressively more and more suspicious. She had to admit, she found herself puzzling over what his game might be. Finally Isabel arrived and the girls quickly took their leave of the room.

"Sookie is a very special young woman," Godric said gently, sipping distractedly at the bottle of true blood Eric had handed him.

"Yes she is." Bill said firmly, slightly uncomfortable with the entire atmosphere of the room. "I am deeply concerned for her safety, especially considering Eric has shown a reckless disregard for it."

"Eric would not let anything happen to Miss Stackhouse." Godric told him confidently. "And neither would I. She and Cassie seem quite close, and their friendship would compel me to her aid, even had she not already done us such a great service."

"But Eric is interested only in using her to further his own interests," Bill objected. "He forces her involvement in our politics and intrigues..."

"Would she be here in Dallas if she were not involved with you?" Godric asked with a delicately raised eyebrow. Bill's frown was almost aggressive and Eric smirked. "The truth is we are monstrous... proximity to us leads inevitably to danger for them. It is why the gift of their companionship is so great, it is a true risk they take."

"Sookie's risk is greater. With her gift..."

"Sookie's risk is greater because her heart is so gentle." Godric interrupted. "She cares deeply, for everything on which her eye falls..." Godric leaned forward, his face serious but calm. "I would never dream of telling you how to run your affairs, but the wisdom of my years suggests to me holding too tightly is the fastest way to send something skidding away."

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Cassandra sat in silence in the passenger seat of the black SUV while a hired driver guided the car towards a house she'd never seen which would be her home for the foreseeable future. That concept alone was enough to set her trembling. In the back of the car were two coffins, stacked neatly and secured tightly. It was easy not to talk to the driver, he'd been instructed before they left to leave her alone, that she was mute and it would just upset her.

She didn't feel completely comfortable in the outfits Sookie had brought her back with. She had agreed to wear the more modern white cotton dress with soft little brown leather boots, but for the trip to Shreveport she'd insisted on keeping her cloak pulled tightly around her.

The house was single storied, painted and paneled in a Tudor style. The driver wheeled the two coffin's out on a shiny silver trolley while Cassandra opened the huge double doors with the key Eric had given her. The drivers instructions led him through to a back room with heavy drapes, where he unloaded his lifeless cargo and left, all without a word. He gave Cassandra a respectful nod and handed her the receipt. She smiled up at him and nodded back.

With the door closed and safely locked, and two hours left before sundown, Cassandra explored the house timidly. She felt like a thief, afraid at any moment that the owner might awake and throw her out into the street. There was something juvenile and naughty about roaming around someone's home while they weren't there to watch you and a part of her actually reveled in the childish joy of it.

In a room which could only be called the library, she found an old copy of the Iliad in Greek and sat down behind the wooden desk to open it gently. She flipped through the pages to nearly the end... Achilles' slaying of her brother, Hector. It all sounded so poetic in Greek. Great warriors battling for pride and honor and the satisfaction of their rage... But Homer did not record the little princess sobbing on the walls as she watched her brother die. Nor did he squeeze his wife, Andromache's pain into verse. Cassandra remembered clearly how her handmaidens had to restrain her hysterical aunt as Achilles dragged Hector's body through the sand before the walls...

She was still sitting there, crying quietly when the vampires awoke and came looking for her.


	10. Defiance 10

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"Cassandra?" Godric appeared in the doorway, having been drawn on awakening from the back of the house to the library by the sound of her gentle crying. "What happened? What are you... oh." He gently closed the book and crouched next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"The fall of my city, my family... my whole world and it's a fucking bedtime story." She kicked the desk and swore again, rubbing her bruised foot. "Damn it!"

With a sigh, Godric took her foot and gently pulled her boot off, his cool hands tickling her skin slightly. "But we all remember... would this not please them?"

Cassandra snorted, "Ha. Achilles maybe. My mother too I suppose but father? Hector? Even precious, stupid Paris with his helpless loves? They wanted to live. Watch their children and grandchildren grow up." She wiped angrily at her eyes. "They called my brother Hector, 'tamer of horses'... he kept the best stables in the world. He wanted to be remembered for his stables, for the great deeds of his sons... not because the _**mighty**_ Achilles abused his body in front of my aunt and father!"

"There is no justice in history, Cassandra. Wherever your brother is now, I am confident he has his horses... and that he would be very sad to see you so angry with the world." He let go of her foot and reached up to tuck a lock of her dark hair behind her ear.

"Hector would have liked you..." She said softly,dabbing the last moisture from her eyes. "He was a hopeless optimist too."

"Quite often, princess, a man will wear a mask of optimism... if it will make a beautiful woman smile for him." She blushed a shy, embarrassed red and looked down at her lap, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a pithy reply. Godric smiled and stood, kissing the top of her head on the way up.

"Are all grain farmer's son's such flatterers?"

"Two thousand years of experience can teach the lowliest pig farmer to say the right thing." He flashed her a boyish grin, and for a moment she imagined that he might once have been an impish, roguish boy. "Trial and error is a powerful thing. You just came along after the error part of the learning process." He grinned again as she rewarded him with a girlish giggle.

"I have to make an appearance at Fangtasia before Pamela rebels and burns the place down out of spite." Eric said gruffly from the doorway.

"Fangtasia?" Cassandra giggled again. "I like that!"

Eric spared her a quick grin, and then looked to Godric. "Will you be coming in as well? I'm afraid I do not keep true blood in the house..."

"Would you care to accompany me?" Godric asked Cassandra differentially. "I'm sure Eric has an empty kitchen as well, we will need to stock it for you."

"Will there be a lot of people there...?"

"Fangtasia is not a large nightclub, but by its nature it feels quite... cramped. It is the atmosphere the humans expect." Eric explained. "There are offices in the back however, should you need them."

"I will be with you," Godric told her with an encouraging smile. "We can explore this den of inequity together."

"Joy..."

"I suggest you find something dark, and modest to wear." Eric told her. "Being in Godric's company will keep most everyone at bay, but it might be best, your first night out, to draw as little attention to yourself as possible."

"I've never really understood 'modest' dress. We went largely naked most of the time at home." She slid her foot back into her boot and stood.

"I wouldn't suggest going naked to Fangtasia, little sister." Eric grinned, filthy and lecherous at her, but strangely she could see his playfulness and found it reassuring. "Even Godric might have difficulty scaring off potential suitors."

She blushed again, a process both vampires found amusing and fascinating, having long lost the ability to do it themselves. "Could I wear my dress?" She asked. For some reason she had taken to the plain white linen dress the convent had given her. Something about it made her feel invisible.

Godric opened his mouth to say no but Eric cut him off. "That would be fine. But leave the cloak at home, wear a coat instead. You will look too timid to be a vampire and not brazen enough to attract anyone's interest. Godric's presence should do the rest."

She smiled gratefully at him and ducked past them both to the bedroom which would be hers where the mountain of clothes Sookie had forced her to buy were still in the store's bags piled high on the bed.

"I would rather she not use that dress as a shield." Godric said carefully.

"I would have thought you would rather she be as shielded as possible." Eric lent back against the doorjamb and Godric sat on the desk looking at him thoughtfully. "She isn't just a traumatized girl, Godric... Her fears are not the phantoms of her mind. They are real. It would be reckless of us to school her otherwise. She has survived three thousand years, she knows how to get by."

"I know..." Godric dropped his gaze and, as sometimes happened, adopted an almost submissive posture. One that suited his looks rather than his age. "I suppose I wish that by my will alone I could make things different."

"Don't we all?" Over the centuries, Eric had grown used to the strange changes that could come over his maker at random. He'd been honest with him, the night he'd taken his human life and given him this new one. Father, brother... child. The only other vampire that Eric knew who was as physically young, was the recently made Jessica, and she hadn't had time to mature yet. Perhaps, because of his physical age, Godric really was capable of being all three. He certainly played all roles equally well, sometimes when he seemed to need it... other times when it was what Eric needed. "She affects you a great deal..."

"For a long time now... hundreds of years, if I'm honest, I have felt as if I were an old man, trapped forever in a young man's body. My spirit has been stooped and slow, heavy with age and it seemed obscene to me that my body did not fit my mind." He looked up and his eyes were sparking again, as Eric remembered they had for the first hundred years. "Her smile makes me feel that I fit again inside my skin. The childhood she remembers is the same as mine, and like me, her age does not match her face..."

"She is a singular woman," Eric admitted, "and I have not seen your face so animated in many life times. Consider this," he paused carefully and then plunged on. "We know of no way to lift her curse. What she is, she is likely to be long after both you and I have gone to dust. And if you _**could**_ cure her... she would be mortal, like the rest of them. Would you turn her to have her with you forever?"

"I have thought of all these things..." Godric conceded softly. "When she brought me down from the roof, she made me say out loud that I believed her, that I would live..." He looked at Eric sadly, "I think she thought that changing something might break her curse. She broke down, not because of the shock, but the horror that it didn't work..."

Eric was nodding slowly. He considered that on the night he was born, Cassandra had already been alone for two thousand years. All that time to cling to a hope which turned out to be false... there would be no freedom for her, even if she did somehow create her utopia. A thousand years of watching progress and learning new ways, but in his heart Eric was still a howling north man. A Viking, and ancient legends of heroism and bravery still spoke strongly to his soul. His shoulders slumped slightly in defeat and he put a hand on his maker's shoulder. "We do what we must, and what we can... there isn't anything else."

With a grateful smile, Godric nodded and clapped Eric once on the shoulder in return. "Thank you."

"You always knew exactly what I would do." Eric said in confident amusement.

"I had hopes."

"Hmmph," Eric grunted, standing back and gesturing to the doorway. "Try to look menacing tonight. I want no disturbances. Once your identity has been made known it will no longer matter, but for now you should look the part."

"As you wish." Godric looked down at his slightly oversized fawn colored jumper and simple dark trousers... he had to admit he looked more like a S.N.A.G than a vampire.

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Cassandra Stood in front of a full length mirror, in an endless feedback loop of watching herself watching herself. The long black coat Sookie had picked out for her sat well over her dress, or at least she thought it did. The wildly fluctuating trends of fashion had long since gotten away from her, she wasn't even sure what was attractive anymore. With one hand she pulled her hair back and tried holding it up as though in a ponytail and looked at herself in the mirror.

"I can understand the desire to have it out of the way," Godric said from the doorway making her jump. He gave her an apologetic smile before continuing, "But I think it looks beautiful down."

She looked back at the mirror and dropped her hair, letting it fall however it pleased. "I cut it myself for a long time... to keep it out of the way. I don't remember when I gave up on that. There is so much of it now!"

"I believe it suits you well. Are you almost ready? Eric is... concerned for the well-being of his establishment. His child Pamela does not enjoy being in charge."

"She wont know, will she?" She spun and looked at him slightly wild eyed, though it was apparent to him that she was trying very hard to control herself.

"She will not. You are my companion, that is all she needs to know."

"I wish Sookie were coming," She said, turning back towards the mirror to hide her fear. "I can't tell you anything without her once we leave the house."

"Then I will have to give you my undivided attention." His smile was encouraging and tender, as it had always been before, when she was just little sister and everything had been, after a fashion, blissfully normal. "We will work this out, Cassandra. In the beginning it will be difficult, but we have time. More than either of us wanted, I think, but it would be wasteful not to use it to its best advantage."

"Sweet words for a man who wanted to kill himself two nights ago." She couldn't look at him and in truth he couldn't blame her, though her tone had stung him sharply. "Do you think I haven't tried...?" The question came out in a whisper as she met her own eyes in the mirror again. "When the usual means failed turn the trick, I started getting creative. I can be very creative when the mood takes me. Guns, knives, poisons... all they did was hurt. In China I thought their explosive powder might be my way out... I even made my way to Nevada for the testing of the Atomic Bomb..."

"But... surely there would be nothing left to heal..." Godric said softly.

Cassandra shrugged "I've often thought of going back to look. See if I could find some charred fragment of myself. Never got around to it I guess." She turned to face him, hands on her hips. "As near as I can tell, if I destroy my body entirely, I wake up six weeks later on the hillside at Hisarlik, right about where my bedroom would have been... Took me ages to work that one out. The first time I managed it the city was already long gone."

"You just reappear there?"

"I wake up there. No one's ever been around to let me know how I got there. Who knows. Maybe I spin into existence out of nothing. Maybe ants bring all my scattered atoms together like Horus and then lightning shocks me back to life. Whatever happens, it takes about six weeks and then I'm naked and alone in middle of nowhere. As you can imagine, I've given up trying to destroy myself, it just makes life harder."

Godric looked at her helplessly before holding his hands up in surrender. "Tell me what you want me to do."

"Just... be like everyone else! Hate me, stone me, drain me and dump me on the side of the road, only don't pretend that you'll stay!" She stormed over and beat at him ineffectually with her fists. "Don't... don't just stand there with your big stupid eyes and sad stupid smile and act like we're in this together! There_** is**_ no together, not when you can get out anytime you like and I'll go right back to being as I was! God, you sadist, why are you doing this to me?"

One cold, strong hand closed around both her wrists and pulled her away, and Cassandra found herself being measured up by a stony faced Eric. He glared at her hard for a moment, her hysterical crying affecting him not at all, before slapping her sharply across the face. Godric went to object, but Eric shook the princess and snarled down at her. "Do you hate him?"

"Who...?"

"The one who did this to you. Do you hate him?"

"... yes!" She hissed and the malevolence in her eyes chilled Godric for a moment.

"Then hurt him." Eric shook her once more, his eyes boring into her face. "Thwart him. Somewhere, in a stinking mire of his own self-congratulation he wallows in his victory over you. He's made you suffer, he's made you hateful, he has warped the woman who refused him... The power of the torturer is in the pain. So much that you can't open the unlocked door he taunts you with. Do _**not**_ let the pain make you fearful, little sister... let it make you determined. Make _**him**_ suffer."


	11. Family 11

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The change that had come over Cassandra when Eric yelled at her, persisted all the way to Fangtasia. It was like he'd put steel in her spine, she stood straighter and seemed to jerk and stop herself every time she felt a flinch coming on. When they arrived, Eric waved them both to a booth in the corner and began the painful process of placating Pam. This was almost certain to involve the purchase of an outrageously overpriced pair of shoes.

Tucked up safe in the booth, with Godric between her and the crowd, Cassandra fidgeted with the hem of her coat and tried very hard not to let the terror that crowds habitually brought out in her over power her reason. Eric's speech had shaken her badly, she hadn't been handled roughly in a long time but more than that... it seemed to her that Eric understood something about defiance, and defiance was all she had left.

Shyly, and trembling nervously, she reached for Godric's hand and slipped her small one into it, gently lacing their fingers together. Godric looked down at their hands and then turned to smile at her.

"Thank you..." he said, just loud enough to be heard over the music. She bit her bottom lip and leaned towards him, letting her head rest against his shoulder. "We can leave, if you wish. I know you haven't eaten."

She shook her head, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, consciously trying to relax. Godric hooked his free arm around her shoulders and hugged her against his side. There had been nothing like a nightclub when he was human... but there were elements of the familiar in the dark, the pounding music, and the bodies moving together. All reminded him of the midnight festivals to the great Goddess, where class and status meant nothing and the lowest beggar could approach a highborn lady and offer himself to her without fear of reprisal. He wished he could ask Cassandra what she made of the gyrating bodies in the half-light, but of course, she wouldn't be able to tell him, not there.

From up on his throne, Eric watched as Cassandra plucked up her courage and let her head rest against his makers shoulder. Despite himself, he found he liked the little creature. She was resilient in a way he liked to think resembled himself, and there was something bittersweet about watching his maker relax into himself in her presence. He thought about what Godric had said earlier, about feeling like he didn't fit inside his own skin. He could never imagine feeling like that... his every thought and action was tightly controlled.

Three am could not come fast enough for any of them. After Dallas, Eric found it harder to summon the patience required to deal with the adoring masses, and it was obvious to him that his maker wished to be able to speak to his companion, and the little princess though admirably outwardly calm had taken about as much exposure as she could handle for one night. When the doors finally closed they were all grateful.

"There is a shifter outside... with two human children. He wants to talk to you." Pam said with her usual air of sarcastic irritation.

Eric had just reached the booth and he groaned and shot her a glare. "Fine. Bring them in."

The two children, a boy and girl, seemed shy, but interested in everything in the way children often are. Sam ushered them ahead of him but kept them close at the same time. "I need your help..."

"And you brought me dinner to pay for it?" Eric asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cassandra's hand tightened in Godric's convulsively, but he steadied her gently. He could tell when his child was putting on a show, and despite appearances, Eric had a strict sense of honor which protected all children in his sight.

"Bon Temps' gone nuts." Sam outlined the issue with Maryanne and the people in the town while Godric and Cassandra remained quiet, and Eric nodded slowly.

"I...may know someone who could help... Pam, take them into the office. See they are fed and fetch blankets for the children." He looked at Sam, who was finally starting to unwind after his ordeal. "I promise nothing, shifter."

After Pam had led them away he turned to the two oldest people he knew with a raised eyebrow. Godric shrugged, "I know nothing particularly helpful." He glanced at Cassandra was was surprised to find her on the verge of tears. "Princess...?"

"She's a Maenad..." She said quietly, glancing at the passageway down which Sam and the others had gone. "A left-over... abandoned here, forever... just like me."

"What do you mean, abandoned here?" Eric asked.

"Dionysus, he loved her... gave her his power. But he's gone, just like the rest of them... and she's still here. Alone. Pining for him, trying to bring him back... but it's madness. He can't come back for her any more than Apollo can undo what he did to me." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"How do we stop her, Cassandra? She's hurting those people," Godric prodded gently.

"I know... I know. Um... the power of her faith keeps her alive, makes her immortal. She'd have to consent to die."

"Why would anyone do that?" Eric snorted softly, only to look down at the two Ancient Children before him who had almost matching expressions of sadness.

"She'd die to be with him again... if we convince her to be the sacrifice instead of the shifter. He'll never come here to be with her... she'll have to go to him." She looked up at Godric sadly. "She's lonely. Desperate. It shouldn't take too much..."

"Thank you." Godric closed his hands over hers and touched their foreheads together gently before looking over at Eric. "How do we convince her?"

"More importantly, where is Sookie?" Eric rumbled, standing straighter. "You have not known her long, but I can assure you, she will be in this up to her neck by now."

"Sookie is not without her own defenses, Eric," Cassandra said, pausing when Eric snorted in derision, to glare at him. "Just as you are not without your charms... though you look and act like a howling barbarian."

Godric gave her a warning squeeze, but there was something passing between her and his child that bypassed him completely. Cassandra looked up at Eric, her face stern and stubourn, but not provoking as it had been in the hotel, and Eric returned her look steadily for a long time before narrowing his eyes.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Eric growled softly, though it was irritation, not threat that he expressed.

"Not yet. You're not ready to know yet and neither is she."

"But you know..."

"Yes. Look at it this way Eric, this is the only insurance I have. I have to trust you with everything... you just have to trust me with one little secret."

"One my ass. Something happened on that roof in Dallas. Something you have convinced Godric not to share with me out of fear of driving you away!" Eric stalked away from the table, turned and paced angrily before them. "For a thousand years there have been no secrets between us..."

"Eric... I keep nothing of myself from you. This secret isn't mine to tell..." Godric stood, leaving Cassandra in the booth and moved to stand before his aggravated child. "I need you to trust me. Her secret cannot hurt you, nor me, nor Sookie..." He sighed and put his hands on Eric's arms gently. "This distance between us is my fault. You are angry with her, to avoid being wroth with me. I do _**want**_ to fix the breach between us, but it cannot be done in a single night, nor by my breaking faith with someone else. After a thousand years you can see no wrong in me, though I have made many mistakes." He smiled up at the Viking then, tenderly and mischievously, "Just as I excuse any faults of yours, but it does not make them go away."

"_The girl is trouble._" Eric said in Swedish, not noticing Cassandra's expression...

"_We have three thousand years of experience between us, Eric. How much trouble can one girl... who seems to understand your language perfectly, really be?"_ He hadn't turned around, but something in the tension of the air had told him that the prophetess had no difficulty decyphering their words.

Eric looked at her sharply and Cassandra instantly scooted back in the booth, her back against the wall and bit her lip. The Viking made an exasperated face and forced his shoulders to relax. "I'm not going to hurt you, Cassandra," he said wearily. "Stop that, and come here."

To Godric's surprise, she shuffled forward out of the booth and came to stand obediently beside them, fiddling the buttons on her jacket. Eric reached down and stilled her hands, "can you speak to the Maenad? Will it listen to you?"

"She's closer to being a god than a human now... the curse shouldn't affect her. She might listen to me, maybe. To be honest it could depend on the mood she's in or something as random as what I'm wearing... they're theatrical things." Her fingers twitched a little in Eric's grasp and he pointedly held on moment longer, to force her to calm down before letting go.

"Then we will be theatrical. Wear your dress, we will fetch your cloak, and then we will see." He glanced back at her after a moment. "Stand up straight." He said distractedly, and Cassandra complied. She came nowhere near looking him in the eye, but the way she folded down on herself trying to disappear irritated him.

When she retired to the bathroom to freshen up, and calm down, Godric looked at Eric seriously. "Why are you both testing each other so?"

With one eyebrow raised in mild amusement, Eric leaned back against a table and smirked. "Because we both know something you seem to have missed." When his maker looked surprised, Eric actually laughed quietly and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you manage to get past this childhood courting fantasy you're both indulging in, then she and I will be family. Family have to know each other."


	12. Maenad 12

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"Take this," Eric handed Cassandra something on a black lanyard.

"What is it?"

"I believe it's referred to as a 'rape whistle'. You can not call out to get our attention when there are humans around. A number of the female staff wear them too and from work at night..." He watched as she put it around her neck and tucked it inside her dress.

"Thank you..."

"You are welcome. Do not forget that it's there."

Cassandra nodded and quickly went up on her toe to kiss his cheek lightly, before retreating to a safer distance. Eric blinked for a moment, then huffed and turned back to the bar to finish explaining to Pam why they would be gone all night.

"You do not hate as much as you say..." Godric told her gently, and Cassandra blushed, tugging her coat tighter about her shoulders. "Do you charm him deliberately, or are you truly without guile?"

"I don't know... I don't know what to make of any of this. I can't shake the feeling that we'll all pay a terrible price for my indulgence. That I should put as much distance between you and I as I can, before whats left of Apollo finds a way to punish us." She fiddled with the whistle through the linen of her dress, comforted by the cold metal, but unsure ultimately if she'd ever use it. "The gods were always jealous, wickedly so sometimes."

"Apollo is gone, Cassandra. Just like Dionysus and Venus, like the old gods of my homeland too. Only the eternal's remain, and they care little for the affairs of minor creatures such as we. I do not fear the wrath of a long dead god..." He smiled, and in it was what little hope was left to him. Somehow, everything would be alright. Godric slowly closed his hand around her's and lifted them to his lips.

"I don't want to be alone anymore..."

"Then be with me."

It looked for a moment like she might answer, but whatever she was about to say was lost to Eric's sudden concern.

"We have to move." He headed for the door without pausing to see if they followed.

Godric held out his arms and Cassandra obediently stepped into them, allowing him to pick her up as though she weighed nothing at all. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his chest. Running at vampire speeds was not fun.

There was some disagreement about Eric flying on his own, but Godric talked him out of it as they ran. He would not be able to kill the Maenad on his own, and Sookie was not physically hurt, and they had to assume that Bill was with her. Though that thought did not fill Eric with confidence at all.

"Stop!" Cassandra hissed against Godric's throat, making his skid to a halt.

"What is it."  
"She's not far... I can... I can sort of feel her. Put me down." Godric obliged and took her coat when she shrugged it off. "Stay back a bit... she might listen to me... maybe..."

"We will not be far. Is Sookie still alright?" Godric asked.

"She's afraid..." Eric smiled slightly, "and very, very angry."

Cassandra took a deep breath and shook her arms out, trying to psych herself up. "OK... OK... I can do this." Before she could change her mind, she spun, took Godric's face in her hands and kissed him soundly. For a moment Godric flashed back to his nest in Dallas and half expected to forest around them to explode! He recovered quickly though, and wrapped one arm around her, using his other hand to cradle her neck gently. "Be careful." She breathed against his lips, and he nodded.

"And you."

As she disappeared into the trees, Eric looked at Godric with a cheeky, lopsided grin and the older vampire ignored him for a few seconds before chuckling softly at himself. "I didn't realise I missed kissing..."

"Being desired is a powerful thing... I am used to it of course."

Godric gave him a flat, though amused look and shook his head. "I feel young."  
"You look young," Eric shrugged.

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Maryanne was wearing a beautiful white dress which fell to her feet and had flowers bound up in her hair. Everything about her was hopeful and trustingly radiant... this time he would come. He had to! She couldn't be alone anymore, she couldn't be without him. He would come.

"Maryanne...?" A soft, timid voice called from the forest and for just a moment, Maryanne thought that somehow one of her sisters had survived the centuries and found her... Her elation flattened somewhat when Cassandra appeared through the tree's. "Maryanne...? Please listen... you know this wont work..."

"Who are you to say so? It will work! It has to work this time!" The irrational anger flared in her chest and her body vibrated... but nothing happened. "Who are you?"

"I was left behind. Just like you."

"You are not like me, I would know one of my sisters!"

"I was no lover of Dionysus, it's true. I was touched by Apollo..." She held her hands up to show that they were empty and moved closer, into the light. "Apollo can no more come back for me, than Dionysus can for you. If he could, he would have... you know that. How many times have to tried? Ten? A Hundred? How many people have you sent to be with him, while you stay here?"

"It will work! He will come back to me!"

"He _**can't**_ Maryanne. However much he might want to."

"Nothing is beyond him! I have my sacrifice, the god will come!" Maryanne turned and gestured grandly to the huge wicker-man, covered in meat and flowers... and pinned up on it a terrified shifter that Cassandra remembered from the bar.

How the hell had he gotten there?

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"Where is Sookie?" Eric demanded the moment he saw Bill coming through the trees to watch the proceedings.

"Inside the house." Bill hissed quietly, grunting when Eric took him by the throat and held him tightly.

"What?"

"Eric... let him down." Godric said firmly. "You gave her the shifter, did you not?"

"We have a plan... I have spoken to the Queen and..." Bill stopped and looked through the tree's. "Is that not your mute human? Talking to the Maenad..."

"This is not going at all to plan. We must get her out of there," Godric moved to stand but Eric put a hand on his arm.

"She's in no danger. We run in now, that may change." He hated to ask and the question rose like bile from his throat. "What was your plan?"

Bill looked at them both curiously but seemed to know better than to push the questions he had in his head. "I have promised the shifter enough of my blood to save his life, he will allow Maryanne to stab him... it will not work and hopefully she will leave."

Eric nodded to himself for a moment, turning things over in his mind. "Stay here, watch them. I will return shortly."

"Where are you going?" Godric asked curiously, though he was comforted by the fact that Eric seemed to have come up with something.

"To get a cow."

"A... what?" But Eric was gone. Godric looked at Bill with a raised eyebrow. "He's always been like that. I think he does it because he knows it annoys me."

"That seems likely." Bill said flatly, hunkering down to watch. "Your human talks now?"

"When the occasion calls for it." Godric said shortly, making it abundantly clear he was not going to be answering any more questions on the subject.

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Cassandra watched everything spin wildly out of her control and had to fight back her rising panic. How had the shifter gotten here when he was meant to be safe at fangtasia? Why hadn't Godric and Eric come out to save her once everything went wrong? She took a deep breath and looked at Maryanne whose face was triumphant and quite mad. She wondered if that same madness was behind her own eyes sometimes.

"Stay." Maryanne said happily. "Enjoy the party. Who knows, perhaps Dionysus will accept you as well."

"It doesn't work like that Maryanne... you used to know that. You do this over and over and it never works. You're not bringing him back, you're just killing people!"

"Oop, I'd watch your mouth, the people are arriving." She grinned impishly. Devilishly happy to have solved the riddle. "Oh yes, I know who you are... Apollo only left one wanderer. They might not be able to hear you, being under my influence, but it's probably better not to test it." She wrinkled up her nose happily and thrust her arms up into the air. "It's going to be a hell of a party!"

Helplessly, Cassandra watched as the black-eyed towns people dragged Sookie out dressed all in white. Sookie saw her and struggled harder.

_"Listen! Calm down! Eric and Godric are here somewhere. It's... it's going to be OK... I don't know what they're doing exactly but you must calm down!"_ She thought as hard as she could.

The words sounded in Sookie's head so loud she actually thought her ears might be ringing from it. She looked up at Sam on the statue and wished she could hear him clearly, but he too seemed to be frighteningly calm. Did he know what was going on, or had he just given up completely?

"**Sam**! Let him down you bitch!"

"Now that is no way for my bridesmaid to talk to me." Maryanne chided, her eyes alight with the joy brought on by her madness.

In the woods, just out of sight, Bill tensed and Eric smiled to himself. While Bill was wishing desperately that Sookie would calm down and trust him, Eric was reveling in her temper. Her stubborn refusal to simply do what was safe or easy. Insisting instead on doing what was right.

"I do not like this..." Godric breathed, his agitation vibrating through his limbs.

"It must be allowed to play out." Eric told him. "We can see her clearly, she is in no danger."

"She must be so frightened, wondering where we are... this is not what we agreed to." His grip on the branch upon which he was leaning flexed rhythmically, almost to the point of shattering it.

"But she is safe, a condition that may change if we rush in."

"It's too soon, Eric." Godric looked at him, seeming nervous for the first time that Eric could remember. "She's not confident enough. She'll panic, think we've abandoned her. She's too fragile,"

"She's three thousand years old, Godric. The Maenad has no interest in her and she knows we are here. We must learn to trust her, as much as she must learn to trust us."

Though he couldn't argue with Eric's logic, the idea had Godric growling low in his chest and glaring murder at the crazed creature in front of the house. Bill remained silent, he couldn't work out exactly what the two older men were talking about, but he had enough sense to know they wouldn't share the background of it with him and expressing an interest might just be enough to put a target on his back.

They watched in silence as Maryanne chanted in ancient Greek and, at the height of the ritual, stabbed Sam, letting his blood spill out into the ground. Sookie screamed, swore and scratched at the women who held her, women she had known all her life, while Maryanne danced around the base of the statue and Cassandra cried soundlessly.

"Lover!" Godric called suddenly, in the oldest Greek he knew. Eric's nostrils flared for a moment and he glared at his maker, who shoved him slightly and the three vampires split, running full tilt to come at the house from the other side, while Maryanne rushed into the forest thinking to find her god in the trees.

Bill rushed to Sookie's side the moment the Maenad was out of sight. "Sookie!"

She shoved past him and hurried to the base of the statue, where Eric was already cutting down the rapidly dieing shifter. "Sam! Bill, help him!"

Eric grinned, amused, as he passed the unconscious man down. "You made the deal, Bill... pony up, as they say."

A few meters away, Cassandra stood, trembling violently as Godric took her in his arms and held her gently. "I'm here." He murmured against her hair, "It's alright."

"Little sister," Eric said pointedly as Bill fed Sam and his wounds began to heal. "I have a white bull... will that work?"

Cassandra gulped, fighting hard to get herself under control and understand what she was being asked. At last, as Sam sat up, she nodded and pointed off into the woods, where they could all hear Maryanne, calling desperately for Dionysus.

"Go. I will stay with her," Godric told his child, even s he cupped her face gently. "You wont have to watch. Eric and Bill can handle it." Her terrified eyes turned to Bill, whose expression clearly said that he knew something important was being kept from him, and he would likely attempt to seek it out. "It is in your best interests, Mr Compton, not to dwell to long on matters which might well be beyond you."

As Bill, Eric, Sam and Sookie left the little clearing in front of the house, Cassandra began to cry again. She curled herself into Godric's chest and shook slightly.

"I'm sorry..." Godric said again, a terrible tightening in his chest at her pain.

Cassandra shook her head and clutched at his shirt. "I knew you'd come." She gasped, still unable to look up with the terrible trembling in her body. "I was scared... but I knew you were there. Just out of sight. I wasn't alone."


	13. Adoption 13

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"It's done." Eric announced, looking down at Godric and Cassandra where they sat very close together on the front stairs of Sookie's ruined house. Cassandra nodded and let her head fall sideways to rest on Godric's shoulder. "She didn't actually seem to mind."

"I imagine the affects of this will remain imprinted on this town for some time yet..." Godric said softly.

"Folks around here are a weird combination of tough and dense," Sookie said tiredly. "They'll chalk all this up to too much booze an' somethin' in the water. You'll be surprised how fast everythin' goes back to the way it was. Sam's gone to find some clothes and fix up the bar. They messed it up pretty good apparently."

With a small smile, Godric inclined his head towards her, "I will trust your experience in this, then." He stood, gently pulling Cassandra up with him. "It seems your house is uninhabitable. If you would care to stay with us for the day, I am sure Eric could spare me tomorrow night to assist in the restoring of order."

"That is unnecessary. My house is in perfect order." Bill said firmly.

"Oh my God! Jessica!" Sookie gasped, turning to look across the cemetery in the direction of Bill's house. "You should make sure she's OK!" Bill held his arms out to carry her but she backed off slightly. "You go. I'm sure Godric wouldn't mind walking me over, and I'd like a chance to talk to Cassie..." Bill made a face and opened his mouth to object but Sookie cut him off. "I'll be fine. Go, we wont be far behind you."

Bill did not like this. Not one bit. Godric and Eric keeping secrets from him was normal, expected even, but he got the distinct impression that Sookie knew something about what was going on and was deliberately keeping it from him! The trip back to the house was uneventful, but on arrival he found Jessica sitting on the stairs crying. She was to despondent to get much of an explanation out of her, something to do with that boy, Hoyt, but he decided to wait for Sookie. She was better at this sort of thing than he was.

"Are you OK?" Sookie asked Cassandra as soon as she was sure Bill was out of earshot.

She nodded and left the safety of Godric's arms to hug Sookie tightly. The bubbling disgust she felt hit the back of Sookie's throat like vomit but she pushed it down and hugged the prophetess back tightly.

"That was the dumbest thing I've done in a thousand years at least," she gasped with a slightly hysterical laugh. "But everyone is alright... the odds were astronomical but..."

"Did... did you see somethin' else happening? If you weren't here?" Sookie asked timidly, not sure she wanted to know.

"I never see anything good Sookie... it's best not to ask, if you don't have too." She took Sookie's hands and squeezed them tightly. "Will you stay with us tonight?" She asked shyly. "I haven't had another woman to talk to in a very long time..."

Sookie's eyes teared up and little and she nodded. "Yeah... yeah, 'course I will. Once the boy's 've gone to sleep we can eat ice cream and watch TV."

"I'm a fucking monster!" The group heard a distraught Jessica howl from inside the house.

"Oh God, what's Bill done now?" Sookie shook her head and jogged up the stairs. Once inside she hurried to Jessica who was crying helplessly and shoving Bill away. "Honey? Jessica, what happened? Where's Hoyt?"

"Gone!" She sobbed, wiping blood all over her face.

"Why's he gone sweetie? He adored you..."

"I bit his momma!" She wailed, wrapping her arms around Sookie's neck and sobbing into her shoulder.

"Jessica that is completely unacceptable!" Bill flared angrily, but Eric put his hand on Bill's shoulder (much as the gesture pained him), urging him to calm down.

"Why?" Sookie asked her gently.

"I was... I hadn't eaten yet and she was awful! She said awful things about me and about Hoyt... She's just an awful woman!" She looked up at Sookie and for the first time Sookie noticed that she seemed terrified. "I couldn't stop... she made me so mad an'... I knew Hoyt'd be upset and honest to God that's reason enough not to do somethin' but..."

Eric was frowning deeply. "Jessica, you were well on your way to being able to control yourself before you came here."

"That was different!" Jessica cried. "I saw people every night at fangtasia, and you let me eat properly an' the only time I get outta this house is when Bill goes someplace with Sookie so's I can sneak out an' see Hoyt. I messed up so bad Sookie, he's gonna hate me!"

"Hoyt's never hated anyone in his life," Sookie reassured her gently. "This is a big problem but... we're gonna work on it, OK?"

Eric however had turned on Bill, his eyes smoldering. "You don't let her out...?"

"You saw! Eric she is dangerous!"

"She's dangerous because she has no self control. She has no self control because you have not taught it to her! She must be allowed to interact with others. If you lock her up in here, all she has are her instincts, and her instincts are brutal!"

Godric grabbed Eric's arm tightly to keep his child from starting a physical altercation. "Eric is correct, Mr Compton... it is a new age. Jessica has an opportunity we could never have dreamed of. She does not have to live her life in secret, she can have friends, a real existence... You are her maker, it is your responsibility to help her." He let go of Eric and moved forward the crouch down before Jessica who had watched the tension building over her future whilst holding breath she didn't need. "If you want too, you can learn to control yourself. If you love your human and wish to be with him... then you must."

She nodded emphatically, caught in the magnetism of his eyes. "I don't know how..." She admitted, terribly ashamed.

"No one expects a baby to walk uninstructed... it is the same with a vampire's impulses. I would like to help you, if you will let me."

Biting down on her bottom lip, Jessica nodded again and Sookie gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Everythin's gonna be OK, you'll see." Sookie said gently. "I'll talk to Hoyt tomorrow, check on his momma, who _**is**_ an absolutely awful woman, I agree. Maybe to start off with you shouldn't test yourself so much? Start off with moderately awful people, hmm?"

Godric chuckled softly and nodded. "That's the general idea, yes. There are method's I can teach you to calm yourself, but in the end, you must learn by doing."

"Does this mean Jessica will be returning to your custody?" Bill asked Eric, and though there wasn't any actual hopefulness in his voice, it was painfully obvious to everyone that it was what he wanted.

"Bill!" Sookie gasped.

"I am two hundred years old, and I had no desire to make another vampire." Bill said reasonably.

Godric was stony-faced as he looked from Bill to Jessica and then at his own child, finally he sighed as he looked back down at the crying child. "I could take responsibility for you... if you would like." He said at last.

"Really?" Jessica's face lit up with hope. "I could go outside? Would there be other vampires there? Could I drink actual blood?"

Eric chuckled while Godric held up his hand. "You are not a prisoner, Jessica. You should spend time with humans. I'm sure there will be many other vampires of Eric's acquaintance and yes, I will teach you to feed without harming the human." He held up a warning finger and looked at her sternly. "There will be no killing... do you understand?"

"Yes! Oh yes! Please! I wonna go with you!"

"Sweetie are you sure?" Sookie asked gently. She couldn't help equating Jessica with a baby and she was sure that however much trouble a baby might be, you'd always miss yours if you gave it away.

"Well... you'd still come see me, right?" Jessica asked shyly.

"'Course I would. Cassie and I're good friends an' we could have girl nights, jus' the three of us." She looked over at Cassandra who was caught somewhere between nervousness and enthusiasm, the combination making her look slightly unhinged. "We'll look after her, wont we?"

_"She looks so lost... so small... I never imagined a vampire could look like that."_ Cassandra thought sadly, nodding and giving Jessica a weak little smile.

"Cassie's shy, but she like's you." Sookie assured Jessica gently. "Bill, we're gonna go spend the night at Godric's." Sookie announced calmly.

"What? Why? My house is in perfect order..."

"Because it'll be Jessica's first night in a strange place, because Cassie and I want Ice cream for tomorrow which we can get on the way. Because I won'a girls day in tomorrow and my house is a wreak and Cassie doesn't drive. _**And**_ because I think you're a bit of an ass right now. That's why."

"Sookie that is hardly fair..." Bill's eyes were pained and he moved towards he with his arms out but she held up her hand to stop him.

"I am not in a calm enough frame of mind to argue with you. You stay here if you wonto."

Bill sighed. There was nothing to do but acquiesce. He didn't feel like having a full blown argument in front of Godric and more specifically in front of Eric. The Sheriff had been far too cool and calm over the past few days for Bill's liking, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this new, more reasonable Eric, was dissolving Sookie's initial dislike.

"Will it take you long to pack, Jessica? Dawn is not so far off that we can afford to delay." Godric said.

"I... I don' really have much. Just a bag of clothes. I never really unpacked."

"Fetch them then, and we can be off. Would you care to run with us?"

"Really?" Her eyes widened and she smiled broadly. "Can you take my bag in the car, Sookie?"

"Absolutely. Cassie, do you wonna ride in the car with me and let the vampires run?" She was smiling at Cassandra as she said it, but it was painfully obvious to everyone that what she was effectively doing was telling Bill that he didn't have a seat saved for him in the car with her.

_"Ice cream?"_ She thought hopefully and Sookie laughed.

"Yeah, there's a twenty four hour store 'bout half way to Shreveport. We'll stop there." She looked at the others who all wore comical expressions of curiosity. "I've said the magic word and now we gotta have ice cream."

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Jessica's two small bags seemed very tiny on Sookie's back seat. It was sad to her that this was all Jessica's life amounted to right now, but she was confident that things would get better. Godric seemed to know what to do.

"Are you gonna be OK? With Jessica, I mean? I noticed no one asked you..." Sookie said as they drove along.

"Godric did ask me." Cassandra said simply, "he asked Eric too."

"What? How?"

"In the pause before he spoke... he looked at Eric and Eric looked back, and he squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back... He wouldn't have offered otherwise."

Sookie glanced over at her and then turned back to the road. "He's good to you, Cassie... isn't he?" She asked.

"He's the gentlest man I've known since my brother died." She smiled regretfully. "Three thousand years, and all this time it turns out I was waiting for a pair of dead men."

"Eric's..."

"Eric is exactly what he is," Cassandra interrupted gently. "And can be relied on to always be so. He protects me because Godric does, cares about me because Godric does... The more interesting question is why does he protect you?"

"Protect me? Ha! He toys with me, uses by ability and manipulates me. You know he kept a friend of mine locked in the basement?" Sookie realized that in her heat she'd put her foot down a bit hard on the gas and slowed down carefully.

"Why?" Cassandra asked curiously, though she didn't seem at all surprised.

"What?"

"Why did he lock your friend in the basement?"

"Because he's a big asshole vampire?" Sookie said irritably.

Cassandra frowned. "Why would you be friends with a big asshole vampire?"

"Huh? No, no Eric is a big asshole vampire! My friend's... well... he was sortof a drug dealer... Eric found him selling vampire blood."

"Ah... I see." She looked off out the window as the night went flying past. "Vampires are as careful with their blood as I am with mine. They're afraid, you see." She looked over as Sookie, whose face clearly suggested she didn't believe that. "Think of all the things their blood can do. Cure your sickness, make you stronger, faster, get you high... They are stronger and faster than a man, to be sure, but they aren't invulnerable. The truth, that they will never say out loud, is that their existence is as fragile as yours. If humanity turns on them, en-mass, they'd lose. They're useless during the day, they have limited numbers and no one else in the magical community would help them. They'd wind up chained with silver in the basements of hospitals, dispensing their blood through tubes forever. This terrifies them... as it does me."

"You...?"

"I can't die, Sookie." Cassandra said carefully, she'd almost been ready to give up her biggest secret to a girl she hardly knew! What was wrong with her tonight? "They can drain me to death as much as they like... I'll just wake up a few hours later."

"That's... that's awful. Do they know that?"

"Godric and Eric do. I imagine it's only a matter of time before Jessica knows too... and your Bill Compton is unlikely to leave well enough alone. Up until now I've been a ghost," She patted Sookie's hand gently. "Do not judge Eric too harshly. He is charged with protecting the vampires in this area from humans, and each other. I also imagine that a few weeks in a basement is not the usual punishment for dealing in vampire secrets..."

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**Note: The next chapter is going to be rated M for nookies, or Mmmlovin' if you prefer. Fair warning. I always keep my lemons a bit removed from the story line, so if you would rather not read them, feel free to skip the next chapter, you wont miss any important plot. I have a feeling very few people actually DO this though... *g***


	14. Overcome 14

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The vampires beat them back of course, not helped by the fact that Cassandra's sense of direction wasn't spectacular to start with and was impaired further by the fact that Godric and Eric had run mostly cross country when they left. By the time they arrived, Jessica was having a little huff in the living room.

"But you said I could have real blood!" Jessica complained bitterly, holding a warmed true blood in her hands and glaring petulantly at Godric.

"It is too close to dawn for us to find you a willing human for tonight." Godric told her reasonably. "And you must not allow yourself to become truly hungry, it endangers everyone you associate with." Godric put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her, his face gentle and understanding. "I know this is difficult for you. It will get easier. I will teach you everything you need to know, but we must take steps to ensure everyone's safety. Think of it as a medicine if that helps... it will allow you to control yourself."

Bill watched in mild interest and Godric sat beside the new vampire that he was responsible for, she drank down the bottle without comment, though she did make a disgusted face.

"Thank you. If you will take another half bottle first thing tomorrow night, we can begin teaching you enough control to feed from humans safely." His smile was encouraging and Jessica nodded.

To say that she was delighted at the idea of having to choke down more fake blood would be an out-and-out lie. If she hadn't been dealing with Bill's intractable parenting methods she might even have given Godric more trouble, but compared to Bill she was forced to admit that at least he made sense. He explained things to her, and as much as she might not like it, she did know that it had been painfully difficult to stop when she'd bitten Hoyt's mother.

"Do... do you have A positive?" She asked shyly. "It goes down a bit easier..."

Godric glanced at Eric who shrugged, having no idea what had been purchased. "If we don't, we will procure some for you. You are doing remarkably well, Jessica. Many of us are completely intractable for the first few years... I am convinced you will be fine."

While Sookie closed the door and leaned back against it, Cassandra moved silently to Godric's side and he reached up, taking her hand in his and kissing it lightly. She blushed and looked down at her feet, Jessica watched in fascination, her eyes shining happily.

"This is my companion... Cassie."  
"Hi..."

"Hello..." Cassandra said after a pause to find her voice. "Welcome."

"You should take your bags to your room and unpack." Eric said, gesturing up the hallway. "Second door on the left."

The young vampire bounced up and fetched her bag's from where they sat by Sookie's feet. "Thank you!" She kissed Sookie's cheek, beamed at Godric as she hurried past and went up on her toes to kiss Eric's cheek as well. "Thank you!"

"Excitable, isn't she?" Eric said flatly after she'd left.

"Young." Godric corrected.

"I do not recall bestowing kisses left and right a thousand years ago."

"You were not seventeen when I found you..." He stood and put an arm around Cassandra's shoulders. "Will you walk with me?" He smiled when she nodded and snuggled closer to his side.

Eric watched them leave through the back door without a word and then turned to see that Bill and Sookie were on opposite sides of the room, pointedly not looking at each other. He itched, desperately, to stoke the fire that seemed to be consuming them into a full blown forest fire, but Cassandra's words had stayed with him. Fighting down a long list of snide, sarcastic and acerbic comments, he moved to the first door in the hallway and opened it. "The guest room." He said neutrally. "The kitchen is through there. With the nights... entertainments... there was no opportunity to stock it however." He turned and handed Sookie, who had crossed the room to peer curiously into the guest room, a few fifties he pulled from his wallet. "If you or Cassie become hungry tomorrow before we wake... I doubt she would go on her own..."

"I understand." She said with a small smile. "I'll make sure she's got enough for a few days."

"We would appreciate that." He gave her a stiff nod and then turned and walked off up the hall way towards his own room.

"Eric!" He looked back over his shoulder at her call. "Good night. An' thank you..." He nodded again and went into his room, closing the door behind him.

When she turned back to Bill he was shaking his head and looking at her with a cool, distant expression. "He is manipulating you, and you do not even see it."

"He's tryin' to be a decent person. I know he's only doin' it because he wants somethin' right now but... it's gotta start somewhere. I spoke to Cassie in the car an'..."

"I do not trust her." Bill interjected firmly."There are things about her that do not make sense... she has too many secrets, and she doesn't smell entirely human."

Sookie sighed. She knew that there was no way Bill was going to just let this go, and she also knew that like as not Godric and Eric would do just about anything to protect Cassandra's secret. She could understand that. "Bill... could you please just leave her alone? For me?"

He looked down at her, and felt his heart might be breaking. She was withholding things from him, big, important things. He felt his whole position undermined... last week he was the center of her life and now she had secrets from him! "I want only to protect you..."

"I know that, but Cassie isn't dangerous. She's just scared and lonely... Godric's the best thing that ever happened to her, so please, please jus' let it go." She walked her fingers up his chest slowly, smiling and backing up towards the open door of the guest room. "I'll make it worth your while..."

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Cassandra always felt safer at night, which she realised was probably a symptom of some fairly spectacular issues associated with being cursed by a sun god. During the day she always felt watched. She walked beside Godric, her arm wrapped around his in a quite old fashioned sort of way and to be honest she felt safer and more normal than she could ever remember being.

"How are you coping?" He asked her after a while.

"Better... maybe? I like having people to talk too, though I know I make Sookie uncomfortable..."

"She's strong, and kind... I don't believe she holds it against you."

"I know," She smiled weakly, "but it's not pleasant to make someone feel like shit."

"Where did you pick up all these expletives?" Godric asked in amusement.

Cassandra giggled, "swearing was almost as common when I was a child as it is now... I learned my first curse from my brother in the stables when a horse trod on his foot." She laughed and squeezed his arm, clinging to the joy in the memory. "He called it a filthy donkey fucker, and then he looked down at me in horror at what he'd said. Made me promise not to tell father."

"And did you?"

"No. Hector always had time for me. Even as a little girl I wasn't like the other children, I was meant for the temple, and everyone knew it. My sisters had to learn to be good princesses, they had no time for me. Paris was always following his dick wherever it lead him... that left me with Hector more of the time." She sighed sadly. "At least he didn't see me after... I don't think I could have..."

"Shh," he soothed her gently, "I am sure he sees you now."

The little princess sniffled a little and then, screwing up all her courage, she leaned forward and kissed him. She was nervous, and the business was a bit more forceful than she might have meant, but Godric seemed to know that the force was born of desperation not to wimp out rather than a desire for wild, out-door sex. He brought his hands up and cupped the back of her head gently, eased off the pressure of his lips and Cassandra found herself being kissed the way the princess is always kissed in the movies. His lips were cool, but with three thousand years between sexual encounters, she didn't really notice the oddity of it. By the time he pulled back to gaze at her, ancient eyes in a boy's face, she felt like she was floating in the simple ecstasy of being touched by another person.

"We should go inside..." He said, and his voice was just a touch more hoarse than he might have liked. Cassandra could only nod, but it was emphatic and her eyes shone with possibilities that her mind had long since forgotten but her body remembered quite well.

Somehow, without discussing it, they were in Godric's room, closing the door behind them and then looking at each other. Cassandra was blushing and terribly nervous, bashful and trembling while Godric felt again like his body was a stranger. It wanted things, needed things he hadn't really though about in a century.

"I haven't done this... in a really _**really**_ long time..." She said at last, desperate to do something to break the painful balance and inaction they were stuck in.

"But you have...?" He asked carefully, and a part of his nervousness diminished with the knowledge that he wasn't going to be her first. He closed the distance between them and smiled when she wrapped her arms around his waist and gazed up at him. "I haven't done this in a long time either..."

He was surprised when she giggled softly and he felt the same urge bubbling up in his own chest. Anyone looking in would only have seen teenagers, slightly nervous, clumsy teenagers. Biting her bottom lip, Cassandra pushed and slowly walked him backwards towards the bed. Godric was smiling down at her when his knee's hit the mattress and he toppled backward, bringing her with him and causing them both to laugh helplessly.

"Graceful," She laughed, but her breath caught in her throat as he rolled them, settling himself above her and smoothing her hair back with one hand.

"I would have regretted it forever, had I missed you..." he said softly, nuzzling his nose against hers gently.

"I will regret forever that I missed two thousand years..." she arched her neck up and kissed him, and this time there was no trepidation, no uncertainty.

Godric groaned against her lips as her hands crept up his back, under his shirt, to cling desperately to his marble skin while he made up a centuries abstinence on her mouth. His hands were massive, at least compared to her and he must have had dozens because they were everywhere at once. They'd both wanted slow, wanted gentle muted love in soft focus, but something about being together made them young again, wild an uncontrolled. Clothing was torn, and chuckled at lustily as it was thrown from the bed, and Cassandra gasped as his hand slipped between her legs to touch her with as much gentleness as he could manage in his almost comically aroused state.

She wrapped her legs up around his hips, trapping his hand between then and arched herself against it, whimpering at the long forgotten sensation. With a half choked off cry, she came apart under his hands, shaking uncontrollably and clinging to his shoulders for some sense of balance. Godric's heart broke painfully a moment later when all unthinking he lined himself up to enter her and she tensed, her eyes popping open in sudden fear. It was gone a moment later but he hesitated, the muscles under his skin straining against his control. Once again, Cassandra hooked a leg up over his hip and, grunting with the effort, flipped them so she was sitting across his abdomen, her small hands splayed across his chest.

"Cassandra... if you're not..."

"I am." She interrupted firmly. Bizarrely, as she arranged herself over him and slowly lowered herself, she remembered what Eric had said earlier. That Apollo had won if he'd made her afraid, if he forced her to be alone, like him, then he'd won. This may not have been the best idea in three thousand years, but it was her idea to have. Her mistake to make, if that was what it was. Her groan as she settled against him, his length inside her, was broken but triumphant and as her hips began to rock, Godric reached up to tease her nipple with one hand, while the other went to her hip to encourage her movements.

Looking up at her, Godric couldn't be sure what year it was, whose house he was in or what language he was supposed to use to tell her she was beautiful. Not model beautiful, not even classically beautiful as was sometimes said. She was beautiful in the way that women were beautiful when he was alive; broad shouldered and strong with ample breasts and wide, soft hips. Her long dark hair was a mess, frizzed and tangled from her time writhing on her back, but as it fell forward and tickled his chest, he couldn't imagine anything sexier.

This time, when Godric's hand slipped forward to tease her where their bodies met, there was no way to stifle the noise. Behind her closed eyes, sparks exploded and through them Cassandra could see, a vision, clear as day, but in it she saw herself. Tremors shuddered through her muscles, and she vaguely felt Godric's grip on his hip tighten as he followed her... but he couldn't see what she saw. It was dark, and she was laying on the ground while Godric held her gently, blood tears on his face and salt staining hers... the shaft of some sort of arrow protruded from her torso just under the ribs. As her orgasm passed, she gasped and tried to force her eyes open, but before she could, she saw that they were both smiling.

There was no strength left in her body at all, and she flopped forward, gasping and heaving for breath against Godric's chest. He didn't seem to need to breathe at all, but his hands shook just a little as he stroked her back tenderly. It seemed like the sort of time where he should say something. Something loving perhaps, or maybe something witty? Nothing came. He was sure he would have said something eventually, had his somewhat sluggish mind not been interrupted...

"_**Godric!**_"

The lovers looked at each other blankly for a moment but when they heard Eric swear and the sounds of wrestling, Godric scooted out from under her, pulled on his pants at vampire speed and was at the door. "Stay here," he told her gently and slipped out into the corridor.


	15. Seeing Horses 15

**Note: I was going to try to get the next chapter of Father's Secret's out today (I'm trying to alternate) but it's come to my attention that Sookie looked a bit like a ho-bag last chapter. *I* know why that happened, but because I went and cliff-hangered it, you don't yet. I love 88spike too much to have her think I've turned Sookie-basher overnight!**

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Eric had smiled, not a lot, but a bit, when the unmistakable sound of his maker taking a lover floated through the walls. He was amused by their over-eager enthusiasm, their giggling and their clumsiness, and more than anything he was relieved that Godric had shown an interest in something that might keep him engaged with life. Having little in the way of scruples or sexual hangups, Eric was quite happy to listen and imagine what was going on in the next room. He was somewhat less happy to hear Sookie and Bill down the hall having a strangely comparable experience. It was incredibly unlikely, he knew, but it seemed to him that Sookie and Cassandra climaxed together... he sat up and cocked his head to the side. A few minutes later he heard something that shocked him deeply...

"Godric..." Sookie, gasped, helplessly and perfectly clearly. Then she squeaked and there were sounds of some sort of scuffle.

Eric was up and out of the room, almost running into Bill, who stood in his boxers in the doorway to the guest room, chest heaving and eyes flashing. "_**Godric!**_" he bellowed angrily. Barely slowing, Eric picked him up by the neck and pinned him to the wall, just as Godric was emerging from his room.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked, his hair still mussed and his torso uncovered.

"You've slipped Sookie your blood, haven't you!" Bill demanded, still struggling against Eric's grip.

"I beg your pardon?" Godric looked at Sookie, who appeared in the doorway, he dress quite torn and her eyes wide and fearful. "What have you done?" Godric hissed, looking back at Bill completely flummoxed. He'd never have though Compton would hurt her.

Eric snarled and tightened his fist but Sookie darted forward and put her hands on his arm. "It's not what you think! Eric! Eric, please, let him go! It's not like that, he didn't..." She wanted to explain it, but she wasn't even sure what had happened. "It wasn't his fault... an' I don't think Godric slipped me his blood either... I jus'... I saw..." She looked across the hallway to where Cassandra was standing, both hands over her mouth and tears in her horrified eyes. "I'm so sorry." Sookie said, "I'm not used to keepin' my walls up around vampires an' your mind is so loud... I'm so sorry..."

A slightly confused Godric looked back and forth between them for a moment until understanding dawned. "Oh... Goodness... Eric perhaps you should let Mr Compton down. We seem to have had a rather spectacular misunderstanding..."

With a grunt Eric obeyed, though he ignored Bill completely and took off his shirt, settling it around Sookie's shoulders gently. Sookie was hearing a massive jumble of gibberish from Cassandra, who seemed to think most of her thoughts in at least three different languages. Suddenly it all stopped and all she could see was the horses.

"Your human took over Sookie's mind?" Bill demanded, reeling still from his initial anger.

"That hardly seems fair to say," Godric moved to Cassandra's side and put his arms around her gently. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him, horrified and shook her head. "Alright...? Alright? Godric, I violated this girl!"

"I don' think that," Sookie said gently, moving over as well and taking Cassandra's hand. "I'm the one that violated your privacy... I don' think you really wanted me to see... that." She glanced at Godric, blushing deeply. "I wasn't ready, an' you've got a real powerful mind. I'll be more careful, I promise."  
"I'm sorry Sookie," Cassandra sniffled and the two women hugged tightly.

"I understand... sometimes you jus' can't think hard enough about horses." They both laughed, Sookie in relief and Cassandra slightly hysterically, and turned as one to look at the men who were all standing around wondering what the hell they were meant to do with this information. "It's nearly dawn, maybe the boys should go to bed an' we can go get some breakfast?"

"Sookie," Bill started but she shooed him with one hand.

"Datin' a telepath has it's ups an' downs, Bill. Jus' like datin' a vampire. You sleep all day and can't take me to the beach, well sometimes I have other people havin' sex in my head." She told him, glowering somewhat when Eric failed to contain his laugh.

"I don't think there's any food..." Godric started to say sadly, feeling awful and inconsiderate that he hadn't thought of it earlier.

"Eric game me some money," Sookie said, "I'll stock you're kitchen, and get some A positive for Jessica." She stopped and looked around. "Who sleeps like the dead, how is she not awake?"

"She is." Godric said with a slight smile. "She's listening at her door. I believe the commotion frightened her." The guilty sound of little vampire feet hurrying back to bed followed and Godric shook his head in amusement. "To be seventeen again..."

"Technically speaking you are about seventeen." Eric told him.

"Sometimes." Godric held out a hand to Cassandra, who went to him slowly, shyly, and allowed him to pull her against his chest and hold her tightly. "Good day, my dear one." He kissed the tip of her nose and she blushed deeply, a process which still fascinated him.

"Goodnight..." She nervously kissed him quickly and in deference to her timidity, he regretfully let her go.

"You an' I need to talk," Sookie said, looping her arm through Cassandra's and leading her off towards the living room. "I really need to be able to tell when stuff is me and when it's you. I don' even think I wanted to..." She glanced behind her at the vampires. "It'll wait a little while..."

Eric nodded to Godric and his eyes flashed a multitude of 'I-told-you-so's' and 'I-love-being-right's', Godric actually looked somewhat shy about the whole business and just nodded back before retreating into his room. Once he was gone, Eric looked at Bill and all the mirthful shine was gone from his face. "If you hurt her... I will kill you."

"She is none of your concern!"

"You do not dictate my concern's to me." Eric flared angrily, before turning and heading back to his room. "_I don't even get to dictate them to myself..._" he mumbled in Swedish.

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**I'm really sorry. This should probably have been on the end of the last chapter. I'm learning bad habits from Alan Ball! Please forgive me!**


	16. Truth 16

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Godric woke first, slightly before sunset much to Sookie's surprise. He wandered out into the living room to find Cassandra asleep at one end of the couch and Sookie, bleary eyed at the other, still half watching some romantic comedy, refusing to succumb until the credits.

"Good evening," he smiled, moving to Cassandra's end of the couch and touching her hair gently.

"Hey... you're up early."

"I require much less sleep than I used too," he told her. "If it is required I am capable of remaining awake and functional during the day."

"Oh, I didn't know vampires could do that."

"It seems to come with age... Jessica will be bound by the patterns of the sun for some hundreds of years yet." he turned and looked down at Cassandra, his face gentle. "Has she eaten?"

"I took her down to the supermarket. Your kitchen's all set, she'll be fine for a week at least." She watched Godric as he touched his lover's hair and examined her face as though he'd never seen it before, with adoring eyes. "Godric...?"

"Mmm?"

"You're like, two thousand years old, right?"

"Something like that." He admitted with a smile. "Though it is difficult to be exact."

"Well... what I mean is... you've probably been in love a bunch of times, right?" She asked all in a rush.

Godric chuckled softly. "I don't know that I'd say that... but a few, yes."

"What I mean to ask is... how do you know? I mean, you haven't known Cassie that long an', well you guys seem pretty in love to me, but... how do _**you**_ know your in love? Am I makin' any sense?"

"I suppose you know, much the same way you know when you have a true friend." Godric told her, leaning against the back of the couch. "Eric is my friend. My family, and I love him dearly. I know this because we are bound together in all things... if he is in pain, it is my pain too. If I am troubled, it is his concern also... not because it affects him materially but because we matter to each other." He looked down at Cassandra's sleeping face. "I know that I love her because her fear frightens me... her peril is mine, and when she is glad it forces the joy into my body as though I have no control over it."

"Wow..." Sookie breathed.

"Many people move in and out of our lives Sookie. Some we have affection for, others not. Some few we hold dear as our own lives... and a very, very few, we hold higher even than that. When both parties feel the same, there is a relationship in perfect balance." He looked at her carefully for a moment before continuing. "You're worried about Mr Compton?"

"No." She said, a little too quickly. "I mean... not really. I've jus' never been in love before... it's hard... with my 'gifts'. I guess I'm jus' not used to it."

"You never get used to it Sookie. One thousand years later, Eric's talent for trouble still keeps me awake well into the day... and even at two thousand years of age, love still catches me by surprise. Often there is nothing to do but hold on, or let go. Examine your lover as you would your friend. Do they love you? Will they go as far for you as you will for them, and perhaps more importantly, do they know the lines not to cross?"

"What do you mean?"

"For all his love for me... Eric will never harm children to save my life." Godric said after a moment's thought. "He knows I wouldn't thank him for it, that it would make my life dirty in my own eyes... I'm sure there are things you would not wish done, just to ensure your safety..."

Sookie thought about that in silence while Godric gently woke Cassandra and carried her off to the bedroom to sleep for a few more hours in comfort. She'd never really thought about any of that stuff before. After all, why would she? Her closest friend in the world was Tara, and she understood everything there was to know about Sookie Stackhouse. She'd never really thought that maybe your boyfriend should too. Bill was a nice enough man, he was gentle and he had his own code of honor which Sookie found a little old fashioned but cute... only... he'd killed Uncle Bartlet. She understood why he'd done it, but suddenly the ease with which she'd forgiven him seemed slightly obscene. Was life important to her or not? If it wasn't surely it wouldn't bother her at all... but if it was, why had she given in so easily? Why had she just forced an apology out of him and then let it go as though he'd dropped a cherished vase or borrowed her car without permission? Taking a life for her was surely more of a transgression than that?

Godric had talked about limits... about knowing how far to go. Not for your own morals or honor, but for your lovers. However far Bill might personally be prepared to go, shouldn't he learn _**her**_ limits and respect them? She was having trouble working out if he was trying to do that or not. He hadn't killed anyone else... that she knew of... but the more she thought about it 'he hasn't killed anyone else' seemed like a bizarre measure by which to judge your boyfriend!

To her surprise, Sookie didn't feel as uncomfortable as she thought she would when Eric came out before Godric returned. He glanced down at her before ducking into the library to check his messages and get organized. Pam had been in charge at Fangtasia for far too long... he had taken advantage of the fact that she'd deny him nothing and in truth actually felt a little bad about it. He would make it up to her... this would almost certainly involve shoes.

"Eric?" Sookie asked from the doorway.

"Yes?"

"You've sort of been... avoidin' me..." She said, not really sure where she was going with that train of thought. She just knew that she was uncomfortable and unhappy with the way things were.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" He asked without looking up.

"Yes." She said a little too quickly and then shook her head, "I mean... It's what I thought I wanted but... I didn' really want you too go away I jus wanted you to stop bein' weird and creepy and mean to me."

"I was... mean, to you?"

"Yes! You know you were! You dragged me all over the country,"

"You agreed to the deal," He pointed out, she glared at him and kept going.

"You locked my friend in your basement!"

"For committing a crime against my race that anyone else, including your precious Bill, would have killed him for. You think his good looks kept him alive?" Eric stood, leaning on his knuckles on the desk and glaring at her.

"And you tricked me into drinking your blood!"  
"Yes! Yes Sookie I did! And now, after everything that's happened you still haven't worked out why!" He hit the desk with one hand and it shook under the assault. "Let me ask you this, do the feelings you're experiencing for me make it impossible for you to think clearly? To reason logically?"

"Ha! Don't flatter yourself!" She hissed.

"It is not a matter of flattery, Sookie Stackhouse, it is a matter of quantity..."

"Eric, you're tormenting the girl," Godric said from behind Sookie, making her jump and cling to the door jab, her face still a mask of confusion. "Tell her, or leave her alone to work it out. Your half-measures are upsetting her."

"What is going on?" She asked Godric softly, desperate for a comforting voice that she felt she could trust, even as her insides clenched with a growing certainty of what it was she was meant to realize.

"Exactly how much of Mr Compton's blood have you consumed, Sookie?" Godric asked her gently.

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Bill awoke dead on sundown, his eyes popped open and right away he knew something was wrong. Sookie was upset, not hurt or frightened, but definitely upset. He hurried out into the living room, and found her sitting on the couch with her trembling hands wrapped around a mug of hot tea. Eric was no where to be seen, but Godric sat in a chair by the couch watching her sadly.

"Sookie...?" Bill made to move to her side but the look she shot him stopped him cold. "Sookie what's happened."

"I wasn' interested in you..." she said, dangerously softly. "Not like that. I seemed nice an' all but... I didn' feel, like this until... until after the first time I dreamed about you." She put the mug down and looked at him, her mouth set in a grim line. "You know when that was, don't you?"

"Sookie, I,"

"Don't. I'm gonna ask you some real simple questions... and then you're gonna leave so I can think about the answers. How much of your blood have I had?"

Bill looked at her helplessly. "Approximately two liters, all told."

Godric's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he studiously kept his mouth shut. "An' you've known, right from the beginning, exactly what that would do to me?" Sookie asked. Bill could only nod slowly. "I need you to leave now..." She told him, her shoulders shook a little but other than that she held it together.

"Sookie please, I love you."

"How?" Sookie asked, the tears spilling from her eyes, though her general demeanor remained calm, if shaken. "You only know the me that's affected by your blood... get out."

At that point Godric stood, and though he made no aggressive moves and his face remained impassive, Bill understood the implication of violence should he not comply.


	17. Taken 17

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"He left without sayin' anything..." Sookie said, once she realized that Eric had gone to Fangtasia sometime during the 'discussion' with Bill.

"Eric does not enjoy seeing you suffer," Godric told her gently. "It took him longer than he would have liked to realize what had been done to you, and by then it was too late. He couldn't just tell you, your bond with Bill wouldn't allow you to believe it. He had to show you... force you to see it..." Godric sighed and sat back down in his chair, pressing his fingertips together and leaning forward on his knees. "Eric is... difficult. I know. But it would be very difficult for you to understand how far he has come, without having seen it. When he was born, there were Vikings, and there were victims. That's it. It was a long time before he could abandon his old gods and ways, before he saw control as a necessity. Vikings believed that everything that happened, was always going to, and there was no way to stop it. If you lost your temper and killed someone, they were supposed to die and you were supposed to kill them. There was no need for self control."

"That sounds awful..." Sookie breathed, latching on to the soothing nature of Godric's voice to avoid thinking about what she was going to do about Bill.

"Among themselves the Vikings lived quite peaceably. Their love for each other controlled their innate tempers... it was everyone else who suffered by their hands. Becoming a vampire only heightened Eric's temper, his volatile nature, and he had to work very hard to overcome it." He smiled a bit sheepishly up at her. "Some days, it challenges him still. Cassandra drives him to distraction."

"He seems to like her well enough though, right?"

Godric laughed. "Probably more than he would admit. As a young man... he had a sister who was killed. She was just a baby," Sookie's bottom lip quivered and she sat down sadly. "I believe he finds it very easy to simply think of Cassandra as her replacement. He's waited a thousand years for vengeance... perhaps Cassandra can offer him something else instead."

"You're not jealous?" Sookie asked softly.

Godric laughed and shook his head. "At some point, Sookie, you come to realize that 'love' is not specific enough a word, and there is more than enough to go around. The love your brother has for you does not negate the love he will have for the woman he marries. The love you feel for your friend takes nothing from the intensity of love you have for your brother." He smiled and stood, offering her his hand. "The love I have for you, as my friend, as someone who has risked a great deal for things I care about... it doesn't diminish or cheapen my feelings for Cassandra."

"You're probably the best man in the world, you know that?" Sookie asked, taking his hand to help herself up and then hugging him tightly.

"Well... I hardly think so, but it was kind of you to say." He kissed her hair lightly and then let her go. "Will you be alright tonight? I promised Jessica we would start her training, but I'm sure she would understand if you needed assistance..."

"No, no I'll be fine. Honest. I've got work till 2am an' then I guess... I guess I should go talk to Bill..." She didn't look particularly happy about the prospect.

"Sookie, understand this clearly. Two liters is a massive amount of blood. Bill is quite young, his blood will not be as potent as mine, but it is working on you. Enough of it in your system and he can project himself on to you... make you feel the way that he does. This is very dangerous for you because despite everything, I do believe he loves you." He took her hands and held them tightly for a moment. "Think. Constantly and carefully about everything you feel. Compare it to other times in your life as best you can, and if it seems different, unusual for you, leave."

"Why did he do this to me, Godric?"

"Possibly because he is foolish. Possibly because he is selfish... perhaps because he was desperate for your love... but this is not love, Sookie. This is control, and one never has to look far to find nefarious reasons for it." He told her seriously.

"You think he's a bad guy...?" She asked. Sookie found that in the few days she'd known him, she trusted him implicitly, and the idea that he thought Bill might be bad frightened her, because if Godric thought it, it was probably true.

"I think you are to precious to me and my family for us not to make sure."

.

Cassandra had been nervous about going to the club with Godric and Jessica. The people made her uneasy and despite the constant glances from Eric, who's eyes admonished her for slouching, shrinking or cowering, she still felt small and helpless. Understandably, Godric was engaged in the sometimes tiring task of teaching Jessica how to control herself and remain calm. This yielded mixed results.

"Jessica... you must put him down." Godric told her, firmly but not gruffly.

"He grabbed my ass!" She practically squeaked.

The human in a business suit gurgled slightly, his legs kicking helplessly under him. "I am sure he is now perfectly aware of the error... aren't you sir?" The man tried to nod but it didn't work very well. "Please, Jessica. We can not continue with your training until you put him down. Killing him here would cause trouble for Eric... you don't want to do that, do you?"

Jessica cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "I... I don't wonna kill anyone..."

"I know, but humans are fragile." Godric looked at the helpless man, his face still calm. "You have a distinct smell of young girls about you... Be aware we do not approve. If I catch the scent on you again, I will see to it that the appropriate information finds its way to the authorities. Leave the club, if you would."

He grunted hard when Jessica dropped him and was out of sight and out the door quickly. Jessica looked disgusted. "I should have killed him!" She hissed.

Godric held up one finger and shook his head. "You are not a member of the police force, you do not have a higher authority simply because you are stronger..."

"But he's evil, Godric!"

"That may be so..." Godric sighed sadly. "And I admit, the temptation to follow him and end it myself still exists within me." He looked at her carefully then and a small smile crossed his face. "Would you feel better, perhaps, if we made good on my threat?"

"What do you mean?" Her eyes widened.

"Come. We can practice glamoring, and ask him, quite politely, to lead the local police calmly and peacefully to any incriminating evidence he has of his perversions..." He smiled when her eyes brightened. "Track him. I will find you in a moment... I have to make sure Cassie is safe. Don't try to speak to him yet."

"I promise!" She bounced, kissed his forehead and hurried from the club, past Pam who raised an eyebrow at her exuberance.

Cassandra had sunk back into a booth and pulled her feet up onto the seat so no one could join her. A few had tried anyway, but Eric's blazing eyes from his throne had warned them off. Something was making her twitchy, something she couldn't quite touch. Like prophesy happening somewhere else. Before the curse, her sight hadn't been as clear, but nor had it been as invasive, this felt like that... the vague pull, the suggestion of the future calling from far away.

"I am taking Jessica outside for a moment," Godric said from over the back of the booth making her jump. "Would you like to wait here, or in the office?" She looked at him wide eyed and was about to start trying to indicate that the office would be better when Eric caught Godric's eye and gestured for him to being Cassandra to sit with him. "You will be safer there with him than on your own."

She trembled terribly as she sank down onto the stood beside Eric's throne. "Your presence may scare off the less adventurous admirers," he told her, leaning to the side with a slight grin. "If anyone comes to close... kick them in the face." She looked at him sharply, startled like a dear in the headlights. Eric only laughed. "It is expected. And sometimes fun."

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Merlott's was as busy as ever, and Sookie found that everyone was suppressing the last week or so pretty well, just as she'd told Godric they would. They worried, quietly to themselves, that maybe they'd drank too much, or perhaps someone had slipped something in the water, but whatever it had been, it was over now and it was best not to mention it again. In some ways Sookie was envious of their ability to push it all aside... she wished she could forget or explain everything away so easily.

"You need some help with your house later, cher?" Sam asked her quietly as she came back to the bar to fetch a tray of beers.

"Oh shoot, I completely forgot!" She hissed to herself. "No... no I'll be fine. Godric said he'd come round, probably bring Jessica and they could help out. Should have it finished in no time."

"Sook..." He stopped himself and looked at her sadly. "I worry about you, you know that, don't you?"

Sookie smiled and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "I know you do. I'll be alright, Sam... you'll see. I think, for a change, everythin's gonna be alright now."

.

The book was beyond old, slightly moldy and bound in rough leather. Bill couldn't understand Greek but the pictures seemed clear enough, and he had at least a passing knowledge of the Illiad anyway. It wasn't the words he was interested in... towards the back, after the death of Hector when Agamemnon sacked the city and took slaves, one was the prize of his collection. The black and white sketch showed a girl with long dark hair and a strip of cloth bound tightly around her mouth. Bill stared at it for a long time, having difficulty believing his own conclusion...

.

It was less than an hour till dawn by the time Sookie pulled up in front of Bill's. She'd stayed back and helped Sam clean up, talked to him about Dallas and all the stuff that happened with Maryanne while she was gone. Then she'd driven home and showered and changed. She wanted to feel confident and powerful when she spoke to Bill, not like a half-asleep barmaid fresh of the night shift. If she was honest with herself, she also wanted day light to be close enough that she could be confident that if she stormed out, he probably wouldn't follow. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, it was that she was afraid she'd give in to easily if there was no where to go. Everything Godric told her stuck fast in her head and she replayed their conversation carefully all the way there to make sure she didn't forget.

As it turned out she needn't have worried, at least not about remembering her lines. She'd been talking so hard to herself that she didn't notice until she got to the top of the stairs that the doors were off the hinges, blown in like they'd been exploded...

"Bill...? _**BILL?**_" She screamed, hurrying through the opening and into the entry-hall. The place looked like a wreck, the furniture destroyed and even the walls damaged. She couldn't help thinking how pissed Bill would be, he'd just gotten the place livable! A quick search convinced her that he wasn't there and that something terrible had happened. There was a little bit of blood, but surely not enough to suggest that anyone had died. Certainly not a vampire anyway.

Sitting crumpled and trodden on, half under an upturned table, Sookie could see an old book which she pulled out and stared at. The page was half torn, the paper connected by the tiniest strand, and though the writing looked alien to her, the picture gave her chills. In a panic she snapped the book shut and rushed to her car, dialing as she went.

"Bill knows! He knows about Cassandra, I found a book... I'm bringing it... his place is totaled and he's gone!" She gushed when Eric answered.

"Shit. How long?"

"I don't know... oh God, Eric I don't know! I was avoiding talkin' to him until the last minute an'..."

"Sookie stop. Just drive. Come to the house, Godric and Jessica are already there, little sister and I are not far away. Don't go anywhere else, do you understand?"

"Yes... yes... I..." She swallowed hard, trying to fight back the tears which would make it impossible to see the road. She wanted to tell him she was sorry, that she was sure this was all her fault, but he'd already hung up.

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The club had long ago closed, and Pam had been bought off with an unbelievably expensive pair of blood red shoes. Given these things, Eric had decided to spend a few hours before leaving giving Cassandra some instruction with knives. She stood, looking at him round eyed and frightened when he hung up the phone. She couldn't hear Sookie's half of the conversation but the way Eric's body language had changed frightened her terribly. Wordlessly she held out the knife she held by the blade, offering it back to him.

"Keep it. And take the silver blade with the polished wood handle, the hilt guard comes off and leaves a wooden point." He said shortly, grabbing his jacket.

"I..."

"You will stab anyone who isn't me, do you understand?" He took her arm and stared down at her... all she could do was nod back. "We're going home."

"What's happened...?" She asked softly, though she already knew the answer.

"We're blown, or at least very soon, we will be. Wait," he stopped at the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of the bleach Pam customarily used on his hair an tucked it into his jacket pocket. "By morning you need to look as different as we can make you."


	18. Changed 18

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"Sookie?" Godric asked, surprised when she hurried through the front door, slamming it behind her, practically sobbing as she threw her self into his arms. "What's happened?"

"Bill knows! He knows everything, and he's gone! I... I went to talk to him an'... his house is a mess the doors were all kicked in an' I found this..." She held the book out to him and he stared at it hard as though it were a snake that might bite him."I'm so sorry!"

"What's goin' on?" Jessica asked softly. She'd known that there was something Godric and Eric were keeping from her. Cassandra had some huge secret that no one else was meant to know about, but she hadn't been particularly worried about it. Godric had promised her that nothing she needed to know would be kept from her, and she believed him, trusted him in a way she desperately wished she'd been able to trust Bill.

"Please sit with Sookie while I call Eric," Godric asked her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I will explain everything, I promise."

"I'm here," Eric rumbled as he pushed Cassandra through the door before him and shut and locked it behind them. "I'll go investigate Compton's home, but I wanted to bring Cassandra back first."

"Thank you," Godric said over Cassandra's head, as she'd already hurried to him and hidden her face in his chest, trembling terribly. "We wont let anything happen to you... Everything will be alright dear one."

"Sookie, will you come with me? You will be able to recognize if anything else was taken." Eric asked her, though his voice still seemed distant, businesslike and cool even if his shoulders and neck were tense. "I can fly us there and back before the sunrise... if we leave now."

"Um, yeah. Yeah of course..." She stood unsure and shy before him, then held her arms out like a child might for him to pick her up. He grabbed her up easily and swung her around until she was on his back, her arms around his shoulders, clinging on tightly.

"Hold on. We shouldn't be more than an hour." He addressed the last at least as much to Cassandra as to Godric, and the girl peeked her face out of Godric's chest and nodded with false bravery.

Jessica watched it all with a guilty little thrill of excitement. Stuff was happening! Big, important, vampire stuff and she wasn't being ushered out of the room or sent off to be babysat somewhere. She was going to get to see everything! Godric kissed Cassandra's hair gently and looked over her head at Jessica. "We need to explain a few things... there is no advantage to keeping you in the dark anymore, you're a part of this nest now..."

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The trip was hellish and Sookie could do nothing but cling desperately to Eric's shoulders and press her face into the back of his shoulder or neck to try to protect it from the whip of the wind and the terror of the sight of the ground flying by below them. As he landed on the porch, Sookie could feel a low, rumbling growl in Eric's chest vibrating against her.

"What is it?"

"Werewolves..." He hissed, helping her swing down from his back, but keeping her behind him as they went through the door. "I assume Bill is usually somewhat more orderly than this...? Can you see anything missing?"

"I don't think so, but other that furniture I don' know what else was here." She looked around, trying to remember if there was anything else here before they left for Dallas, but it was difficult to say. "Why would werewolves take Bill?"

"The same reason anyone else would... he has something they want, or knows something they wish to know... or wish no one else to." Eric lost his temper for a moment and kicked an upended chair sending it splintering against a wall. "I should have killed him when he heard her speak!" Eric growled.

"Eric! Don' say things like that, it's not his fault someone's taken him!"

"But it is my fault he is in a position to betray my family!" He turned on her and glared down into her eyes. "I have no way to know if he was taken for what he knows about you, about Cassandra, about me or any one of a dozen other things that don't affect me in the slightest."

"He wouldn't betray me, Eric, you don't have to worry about me." She told him firmly, and was unnerved by his short, angry laugh.

"You're entire relationship is based on a betrayal of your trust, your free will, and you think he'll keep his mouth shut if someone offers him a good enough deal. I thought you were smarter than that... how disappointing."

"He's done some stupid things, but he did them because he loved me. He's a good man, Eric, he wouldn't hurt any of us..."

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm not willing to trust my nest to the loyalty of a vampire who has managed to brainwash an otherwise intelligent woman to the point where she wont ask the most basic questions! HOW exactly, did he love you, Sookie, mere hours after you met? Hmm? Was attracted to you, sure, we both were, wanted you even. Perhaps found you sweet or kind, but you are projecting a love back in time that could not possibly have been there!" Eric dropped the hand that had been about to poke her in the shoulder with a stiff angry finger and snorted in irritation. "If you are prepared to put your faith blindly in him, that his motives and his methods will be to your liking when the dust settles, then go home. Wait patiently and see what happens, but understand this, if he gives up Cassandra's secret and they take her I'm prepared to wager that Godric will drop this peace-nik kick he's been on lately... and I will not be able to come back for you..."

"Why would you even want too?" Sookie asked softly.

He looked at her seriously for what seemed like an incredibly long time. "You know why. The question is what you're going to do about it." His hand traveled at a snail's pace back up towards her face where he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Come with me... if I'm wrong, you've lost nothing."

"Are you going to try to find him?" Sookie asked breathlessly.

"We have too. If you're right and he bites his tongue, I'm sure his kidnappers will use the usual persuasion techniques... everyone talks eventually. If he gives her... or you, up... then any number of individuals will need to die before word can spread. Understand this, Sookie, the only real protection for a prophet, or a telepath, is anonymity. If you're known, you're in danger."

"If he hasn't told them anything... if he protected us...?"

"Then I am willing to leave his fate to you. If he has exposed Cassandra, Godric will kill him, and I will not try to stop him." Eric didn't bother mentioning what would happen if Bill had put his own life before Sookie's, in part because they both knew he would die... but in part because he didn't really believe it likely. Whatever else he thought, he did believe in Bill Compton's obsession with Sookie and thought it highly unlikely that he'd just hand her over to someone else. More likely was the possibility that he'd take a deal, something which would bind Sookie to him and offer them both protection in return for access to Sookie's powers and just as likely, access to Cassandra.

"I'll go with you..." Sookie said softly. "What will we do?"

"Hunt. But tomorrow night. Sunrise is coming and I must get back," he held his hand out to her and she looked at it carefully.

"I've got work today..."

"You're car is in Shreveport," he pointed out.

"Can I go on the front on the way back?" She asked shyly. "I jus'... I'd feel better if it wasn't my strength holdin' on, I don' trust myself that much."

Eric gave her a slight smirk as he scooped her up and held her tightly against him. "Better?"

"Thank you. We're gonna find him, aren't we?"

"You can be sure of that." What he wasn't so sure of was that she'd like what it was that they found.

.

Jessica came out of the bathroom with Cassandra following wearing a bemused expression and a towel wrapped around her hair. "Go on," Jessica told her proudly, "show him!" Cassandra sighed and flipped the towel off her head to reveal hair which was much shorter and bleached almost white. "I'll have to thin out her eyebrows a little, so they don't look so... y'know... there. But it came out pretty well."

Godric smiled as encouragingly as he could, in truth she could never look unattractive to him, but there had been something earthy and nostalgic about her long dark hair. Something that spoke to his childhood memories of what a beautiful girl should look like. The small, blond woman before him was still Cassandra, and he still adored her, but he would be glad when this was over and she could go back to looking comfortable with herself, as her face clearly told him she wasn't a fan of her new look.

"I don't think you'll fit in any of my clothes though." Jessica continued sadly. "My boobs are too small an' I'm all gangly... we'll have to see what we can do with you're clothes."

Godric watched proudly as Jessica led Cassandra away to continue the transformation. She'd hardly batted an eyelid when he'd explained everything to her. The fact that Cassandra could see the future, that every evil thing on the face of the planet would want her for themselves... she'd just nodded along and finally taken Cassandra away for the make-over Godric assured them was necessary. To say Jessica wasn't scared would be a lie, she was terrified, but Godric and Eric were really old vampires and she knew they'd protect her and Cassie and Sookie, and for the first time in her life, she was being treated like an adult. Godric had all but dropped the concept of her being a child in every way, far more interested now in ensuring everyone was safe, and as such Jessica was being trusted with secrets that no one else was ever meant to know! It was all insanely exciting and even though that excitement made her feel a bit guilty, it was all because Cassandra was in trouble after all, she couldn't quite squash it all the way down.

"We're back." Eric announced as he came through the front door, still holding Sookie. "Werewolves." Godric looked at him sharply, then at Sookie, as though trying to read her mind. "You should be safe enough today, but I would recommend being back here by nightfall." Eric said to her, cutting off any further conversation.

"...OK..."

"Sookie," Godric was beside her before she could leave and took her hand gently, ignoring Eric's curious eyes. "Please be careful. Go nowhere alone. Werewolves are pathologically secretive, they will avoid being spotted at all costs. You're very dear to us..."

"Thanks Godric," she hugged him tightly and he gave her a quick but heart felt squeeze back.

"I will remain awake today," Godric said once she was gone, Eric frowned but didn't push the matter. "You can take over tomorrow. I do not like the idea of being unprotected during the day... Jessica will be able to make up the difference at night for one of us not being at full strength."

"Do you believe it's him?" Eric asked.

"Perhaps. With lives as long as ours, we rarely touch each other only once." Godric looked up at Eric carefully, his face deeply concerned. "If it is, what will you do?"

"He will not take another family from me."

"Nor another faith from me." Godric agreed. "I knew, the night I found you that you would help me hunt him, that we would do this together... but in truth I have lost the stomach for revenge."

"But not protection...?"

"No... not protection. That I can still kill for."


	19. Gentle Giant 19

**Sorry for the slow down in posting guys, things have been a little mad on my end and with NaNoWriMo coming up, I might be a little vague next month so I'm trying to get all my actives to the point where we can pause for a month without heads exploding.**

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Sookie bustled around Merlot's, her face a mask and her shoulders tense. She'd already told Sam that she needed some more time off, he wasn't in love with the idea, even less so because she couldn't explain why exactly she needed it. By the time Hoyt came through the doors, she was almost too tense to be able to deal with any more drama, but his hang-dog expression and sad, guilty eyes, reminded her of the most surprising thing about Hoyt. He was a painfully good man.

_"I've screwed this up so bad... God, I shouldn't 'av yelled at her. Hell sometimes __*I* wanna bite the woman an she's __**my**__ momma!"_ She heard him clearly in her mind.

"Sookie...?" Hoyt asked softly, "could I talk to you... jus' for a minute?"

"Course you can, come on over to a booth," She waited for him to slide in and then sat opposite him, watching as he fidgeted with a napkin.

"Is... is Jessica OK?"

"She's lonely," Sookie told him gently. "And confused, an' scared shitless you're never gonna wonna talk to her again. She cares about you... a lot."

"I was real angry, Sookie... real angry but, Momma did say awful things to her, an' I know she hasn't got it all worked out yet... I got to thinkin' about, when me and Jason were kids, that time when you and your gran had to come down to the doctors cuz... cuz Jase an' I had been wrestlin'..."

Sookie remembered just fine. Her grandmother had held her hand tightly as they hurried down the white washed corridors to find Hoyt sitting in a waiting room. The poor boy was sweating terribly, wringing his trembling hands, his face a mask of terror and shame. he lurched to his feet when gran walked in, stammering helplessly about wrestling and not meaning too. Gran had put her arms around his shoulders for a moment and hugged him tight.

"You're a good boy, Hoyt... No one thinks you did this on purpose..."

Jason had a cracked rib. Not too bad, the doctor insisted his ego was worse off than his chest, but Hoyt had never gotten over it. He was so much bigger than the other twelve year old boys, so much stronger... That was when the name calling had started, because after that day, Hoyt wouldn't wrestle, wouldn't horse-play and never rose to baiting. However angry another boy might make him, his own fear of himself kept him tightly in check.

"You were jus' so much bigger'an he was..." Sookie smiled, reaching across the table to take Hoyt's hand. "That's how come you never joined the football team, isn't it? Why you never wrestled or played rough with the other guys, even when you were older and the others had caught up..."

"Jessica ain't no different... She's jus' like I was. Woke up one day with a body what can do things she never dreamed of." Hoyt actually sniffed softly and blinked to keep himself in check. "I was real unchristian to her, Sookie. Alls I could see was what she done, I didn't stop to think why. To think that I knew her better'n that... For a minute there, all those awful things people say about vampires, I thought all of 'em, but I... I really care about her Sookie. I think I really messed up."

"Oh Hoyt Fortenberry, you're just the most darlin' man in the world." She gripped his hands tightly and looked across the table at his startled face. "Jus' talk to her. If you say, what you jus' said to me, to Jessica, everything will be perfect." She sat back and sighed. "You know, if I had half a brain I'da snapped you up when you asked me out when we were nine."

He blushed and looked down at his lap before glancing up at her through his lashes. "You remember that huh?"

"Course I do! You brought flowers an' everything, and you asked Gran for permission to take me to the movies!" Sookie gushed. "Jessica knows exactly how lucky she is to have a chance with you. Jus' talk to her Hoyt. If not for you, then for me. I need to know that someone, somewhere can get this relationship stuff right, even if I can't!"

"You have a fight with vampire Bill?"

Sookie put her elbows on the table and her face in her hands, her shoulders trembling. "I don' think he is who I thought he was, Hoyt." She sobbed. "I've hated my talent since i was a little girl, but the truth is I donno who people are without it."

Hoyt nodded slowly. _'I'm real sorry, Sookie... about everything...' _he thought, knowing she'd hear him.

Sookie held her arms up blindly "hug my neck?" she managed, just like Gran used to say, and Hoyt obliged. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, scooting into the booth beside her and hugging her tightly. _'Poor Sookie... jus' can't catch a break... how can people be so shit to someone who's so nice?' _

Out in the bar, other thoughts started flying; _'Well at least he's alive', 'Maybe she's finally coming to her senses', 'He's not all that bright really, but he's a nice enough boy.'_ She wanted to scream at them to mind their own damn business, but it was as though Hoyt could hear them too... or maybe he was just more perceptive than everyone gave him credit for. He tightened his arms around her and glared at the room. _'They're jus' little people Sookie. Small, sad, bored people who will never have anythin' in their lives worth nothin'. It ain't an excuse, but they should be pitied, not hated.'_


	20. What Fears may Come 20

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Hoyt had gone after calming her down, said he had to get back to work, but that he'd make sure to get on over to talk to Jessica after sundown. Sookie reassured him that he'd be more than welcome, and that Godric and Eric wouldn't give him too hard a time. She did advise that he be as polite as possible to Godric, he'd like that, and that he ignore Eric's baiting. Eric wouldn't hurt him if nothing else because it would upset Godric.

She was in an absent-minded haze when she hefted two garbage bags full of kitchen waste and hurried out the back door to get rid of them. She was so intent on the questionable smell and the fact the day had been uneventful had lulled her to the point where what she heard with her mind nearly bowled her over.

_'It's about fuckin' time, been out here all God damn day!'_ She had no time to react before a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her and she was being dragged into the tree's. All she could do was scream and kick ineffectually at her attacker until, to her surprise, she heard someone call back.

"Hey!" Oh God, Terry. She heard his yell and more than that she heard his mind. _'That's one 'o mine! Aint gonna lose no one else, by God!'_ she could feel his fear and his anger and his loyalty as he dove on them, knocking her free and coming to his feet ready to fight. "Run, Sookie." He said and for the first time Sookie could remember, he seemed calm, in control...

"I ain't leavin' you here!" Sookie came up behind him and glared at her attacker over Terry's shoulder. The werewolf, for there was no doubt in Sookie's mind that's what it was, growled and his mind was a snarling mass of images interspersed with snippets of words. After a moment it hunched over, turned and ran back into the trees, disappearing through the leaves. "Oh my God, Terry!" Sookie gushed, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. "You saved me!"

Terry patted her nervously on the back, his mind once again a jumble of stress induced ramblings which centred on his fear of losing friends, not to mention his mind. "It's... it's alright."

It had taken all the eloquence at Sookie's disposal to keep Terry from calling his cousin and making a full report to the police. She danced around the idea of telling him the truth, and indeed came so close that in the end, he took pity on her. Whatever else anyone might say... Terry understood what 'classified' meant, and he had more than enough faith in Sookie to allow her her secrets. With a protective look, he took a small revolver out of a flour urn and handed it to her.

"It's loaded. Work the safety like this... got no kick to speak of..." He handed it to her and Sookie's eyes teared up.

"Thank you..."

Terry blushed when she darted forward and hugged him tightly. "You let me walk you to your car after work? Jus' to be safe?"

She nodded emphatically. "I'd like that... thank you..."

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It was dark when Terry escorted her to her car, while Sam watched moodily from the door. Neither had been willing to tell him exactly why Sookie should need an escort, but he knew something was up. Terry closed Sookie's door for her like a gentleman and leaned over to look in the window.

"I don' like you goin' back to that empty house on your own... Couldn't you maybe stay with Vampire Bill tonight?" He asked.

Sookie had to squash down the urge to cry or become upset with him at having mentioned Bill's name. It wasn't Terry's fault, so instead she shook her head. "I'm going to stay with some friends in Shreveport. Sam said I could take a few days off so's I wont be around for a little while."

"You maybe wonna drop us a line at the bar... you know, jus' every couple'a days so's we know you're OK?" Terry looked at her with his huge soulful eyes set in his tender, puppy-dog face and Sookie found she couldn't deny him.

"I will, Terry, I promise."

The trip was quiet and uneventful, in a way that made her progressively more nervous with every passing mile! By the time she was two thirds the way there, she was peering into the shadows on the side of the road and becoming paranoid about every movement in the trees. When Eric appeared beside the car, easily keeping pace with her, she screamed and stomped on the breaks!

"What is it?" He demanded, almost pulling the door off to get to her.

"What...? What is WHAT? You scared the life out of me!"

"You were becoming increasingly agitated." He told her, glancing into the back seat and then looking off into the darkness. "Move over. I will drive."

Oooh how she wanted to argue with him, stupid chauvinist vampire, but she was so frazzled that she decided it'd just waste more time. "One of 'em came for me at work... tried to drag me off..." She said at last and Eric glanced at her, his foot pressing more heavily on the accelerator. "Terry, he works at the bar, he come out and I swear I thought he was gonna fight it with his bare hands..."

"As long as you're safe. Once you're away from the bar the wolves will move on. They don't have the attention span for long term surveillance. You stay away for a couple of days and they'll get bored and look somewhere else."

"Do you actually KNOW that or are you just saying it to calm me down?" She asked.

He glanced at her again with a slight grin. "Both, actually."

"How's Cassie doing?" Sookie asked to take her mind off her own nerves.

"Holding up well, all things considered. Godric stayed awake with her today. We'll be taking it in turns until this is sorted. Jessica should be able to make up for one of us being weaker every day. She's a quick learner." Eric told her as he pulled in to the drive way.

"Wont that make you really sick?"

"A single day's rest is enough to effect a full recovery, as long as we don't keep it up for too long. You and Cassandra are to vulnerable to be left alone during the day, and we don't have access to anyone we can trust to guard you." He pulled the key from the ignition and sat in the drivers seat looking at her seriously. "Things may get significantly worse before they get better, Sookie."

"I know..." she looked down at her hands in her lap, trying to think of something to say. Some way to lessen the tension. Everything was so messed up, Bill was gone and she wasn't sure how she really felt about that. Obviously it was bad, but it's not like she was going to forgive him everything just because he had the misfortune to be kidnapped. That would be dumb. Then there was Eric, who sat looking at her intently with no care for the impropriety of doing so... his eyes had fixed themselves on the side of her face and wouldn't be budged.

"Come inside. Cassandra will feel better now you're here." He said at last before getting out.

Inside there was some sort of frackus going on. Cassandra was worried and looking about nervously while Godric and Jessica tried to calm her down.

"Everything will be fine, dear one," Godric assured her. "We will tell him nothing. You have been moving through the human world for three thousand years, between us we can handle one young man."

"I'll ruin everything!" She hissed back at him, turning on Jessica with a half sob. "You have to keep him away from me! You have to! I break everyone in the end, it comes out it always comes out and I'll ruin it for you. I don't want too but I will! Please!"

"It's gonna be fine," Jessica took both of Cassandra's hands and held them. "He's the sweetest boy in the world. I swear he wont even push. If we jus' give him the story he'll leave it alone, I promise Cassie, he'd never hurt you."

Cassandra started to cry helplessly and Sookie had to grit her teeth and throw up her walls to keep the little woman's terror from overwhelming her. Eric surveyed the scene with dangerous eyes. "What's going on?"

"Cassandra had a vision, Jessica's gentleman is coming to see her..." Godric told them.

Jessica couldn't help looking at Sookie with bright, happy eyes. "He's comin', and Cassie said he ain't angry and we're gonna make up!" she bounced happily.

Sookie clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!"

"How so?" Godric asked, perplexed.

"Hoyt came to the bar today. He was worried about Jessica an' he didn't know if she'd wonna talk to him again an'... I told him he should just talk too her, sort everythin' out." She dropped her hands and looked at them helplessly. "He found out where she was from me... I didn' even think..."

Eric looked angry, though no one else seemed to feel Sookie was to blame, but there was no time to argue it as the doorbell rang. Cassandra made a strangled noise and stared at the door fearfully. Eric moved to her side while Jessica tried to compose herself. "Do you wish to come back into the library?" The Viking asked and Cassandra nodded emphatically. "Come, the others can handle him."

Eric led the trembling girl from the room while Godric watched sadly. When he turned to look at Sookie his eyes were gentle and held none of the condemnation she was afraid might be there. "We still have a long way to go," he told her with a weak smile. "Go answer the door, Jessica. He hasn't come to see any of us."

Jessica hurried to the door and nearly pulled it off its hinges in her hurry to get it open. There on the doorstep stood Hoyt, clean shaven and hair combed, holding a huge bunch of white roses and fidgeting nervously. "Uh.. hey, hi... Um... hello." He tried to start, but only managed to stammer over himself. Jessica looked so serious, and he hadn't really thought too much about what he was going to say, figuring that would probably just put him off. Now he was looking at her though he thought perhaps that had been the wrong approach. After a painful pause, she carefully pushed the flowers to the side so she could put her arms around his neck and hug him tightly.

Unable to help it, Hoyt dropped the flowers to he could fold her in his arms and pick her up. "I'm so sorry," they both stammered together, and Sookie cried silently as she and Godric watched the reunion.

"Tea?" Godric offered her softy, nodding to the kitchen.

Sookie wiped at her tears and followed him gratefully. "Thank you... it's wonderful to see them sortin' things out but,"

"But with everything else in such a state, there's envy too?" he suggested and she nodded guiltily. "There's no shame in being human, Sookie. We must simply have faith that everything will work out in time."

"Do you think it will?"

"I hope so." He smiled at her as he put the kettle on and turned so he could lean against the counter. "This is possibly the most unique nest in the world. And the strongest because of it. We have much to lose, which makes life nervous, just also joyful."

"Do you think Bill will betray us?" Sookie asked softly, terrified of the answer.

"By 'us' do you really mean 'you'?" Godric asked gently, no accusation in his tone.

Sookie looked like she might cry and she had to turn away. She couldn't watch him being so understanding of her selfish thought. "I don't know... I..."

"I believe in his love for you, such as it is. I don't think he'd ever do anything he thought would hurt you..."

"That's the kind of statement that usually has a huge 'but' at the end..." She managed with a small smile.

"But," Godric conceded, "when you make having a person in your life the priority, you open yourself to compromising everything else. Whatever he does tell them, he will believe it to be for your good, whether it is or not, you will have to decide in the end." He handed the the tea he had made while she was looking off out the window. "We will protect you," he told her firmly. "Whatever that requires..."

"Thank you. Do you think Cassandra will be alright?"

"What is she showing you?" Godric asked curiously.

Sookie shrugged. "Mostly horses. I think she's thinking about her brother... but sometimes the picture gets sort of confused and it looks a bit like Eric, or you. To be honest, I think she's just barely holding it together."

"She's had three thousand years of intensive acting lessons," Godric told her. "It's difficult to discern how much of her strength is an act. She hides much of her weakness from me..."

"She loves you though," Sookie hurried to reassure him. "You don't need to be a telepath to see that."

A giggle came from the living room, and Sookie and Godric moved to the doorway to look in. Hoyt was sitting on the couch, flowers forgotten on the table, with Jessica on his lap. She had her face pressed into his neck and he held her tightly to his chest. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too..."

Godric and Sookie looked at each other, each as tormentedly happy and sad as the other. Suddenly Sookie looked up at Godric in confusion. "Godric," she whispered urgently. "Didn't Cassie say she could only see bad things before they happen?" Both looked into the living room and the cuddling couple and then hurried past them into the library where Cassandra was still crying.

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**With Nanowrimo over I hope to be all other this again (along with my other unfinished pieces)! I've also got a couple of other fandom's rearing their heads at me so I might branch out a little bit once I've got this one finished... there might be 5 more chapters in this and then, I promise, you'll get a proper ending!**


	21. The Empty Man 21

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Eric looked slightly guilty as Sookie and Godric hurried in and found the little princess enfolded in his arms, her shoulders shaking. Godric waved off his child's contrite expression, his face clearly indicating he felt in no way threatened by Eric's affections.

"Dear one... I need you to tell me what you saw." Godric said softly. "You knew the boy was coming here, what did you see?"

"It's different now..." She sniffed, slowly leaving Eric's arms to take Godric's offered hands. "I don't know exactly what will happen."

"Different how? What did you change?"

Cassandra took a shaky breath and tried to pull herself together. "It's been quiet for a while, but then, this afternoon... everything started to get really confusing. It kept changing, like someone couldn't decide what to do."

"That might have been Hoyt," Sookie said "trying to decide if he'd come or not."

"Maybe... then sort of all at once, lots of things fell into place. At first it seemed like the wolves would come, and everything went very badly, but then the boy was here, and instead we ran..." She bit her bottom lip and swallowed hard. "We were somewhere else, outside... and I told the boy who I am..." She started to cry again. "I don't know why, it was like I had to do it, and everything hurt a lot and Jessica was crying and Eric had his sword ready..."

"So I will kill the boy before the night's end..." Eric mumbled. "We should send him away, Jessica would be most put out if he dies."

"You can't!" Cassandra grabbed his hand. "If you send him out tonight he'll die anyway and then... I don't know but SOMETHING... I'm too close to it, I can't see myself properly." She started crying in earnest again. "It's a curse, it's not supposed to be useful..."

"It's alright," Godric told her gently. "We'll work it out, somehow..." His expression as he looked from Eric to Sookie over Cassandra's head said plainly that he had no idea how to make it work out.

"Godric, we need to move." Eric said after a moment when it became clear Cassandra wasn't going to pull herself together on her own. "She saw them coming here first which means they know."

Godric nodded. "You are right, of course. Sookie, could you get Jessica and Hoyt ready to move please... Eric and I have things to discuss."

She couldn't help feeling slightly put out at being ordered from the room, and had it been Eric who'd said it she'd probably have argued. As it was she chaffed a little internally as she hurried back to find Jessica and Hoyt still thoroughly enraptured with each other.

"Jessica, we have't get ready... Eric and Godric say we don't have much time..." She said, figuring she should at least start with someone who already knew what was going on.

Hoyt looked from Jessica to Sookie and back, his face worried. "What's goin' on?"

"We can't explain everything!" Sookie said quickly, noticing Jessica opening her mouth. "I'm sorry, sorry, I didn' wonna be rude, but you can't tell him Jessica, you know you can't."

With a pout Jessica nodded before turning back to Hoyt, "I need you to trust me..." she said softly.

"Course I trust you... what d'you need me to do?"

With a little sob Jessica flung her arms around his neck and pressed her back into in. "I love you so much!"

"Guys... I know this is comin' think'n fast but you gotta get movin'! Hoyt, I'm real sorry but you'll have to come with us. It's not safe to send you off on your own, I'm so so sorry, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have let you come here... now you're in all this too, and I can't even explain it." Sookie said sadly.

In the library, Godric and Eric were having a hell of a time trying to calm their prophet, who was bordering on catatonia. She blinked too much and in between answering questions she stared vaguely straight ahead as though she could see something there.

"There's a man..." she said suddenly, her voice still vague.

"What man, dear one? Can you describe him?" Godric asked her gently, keeping his voice soft and calm.

"He's old... impossibly old. Maybe as old as I am... and he's empty. So empty... he wants things." She frowned in confusion. "Nothing important, just things. Objects he likes, things to fool himself into thinking he's connected to the world." She blinked for a moment and looked at them both, her eyes slightly accusing. "You know him... both of you, but he only knows Godric. He's been waiting for you, two thousand years he's been waiting for you. He knew you'd come... knew you'd be ungrateful for the gift he gave you, so much more than what he took. All this time he thought you'd come around, it hurt him that you didn't... he doesn't understand..."

"That's enough," Godric told her. He cupped her cheek gently and turned her face to look at him. "Does he know about you? Can you see?"

She shook her head, "not yet... but he will. I didn't tell you before..." she swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip.

"Tell me what? What's wrong?"

"I can't see myself... not in focus, not ever. Except once... the other night, when we were... I mean when I..." she blushed furiously and was unable to meet his eyes. She just couldn't say it in front of Eric.

"It's alright, just tell me what you saw."

"Me... it was a vision about me. I was hurt and you were crying and everyone was there. Everyone who's here now, and the man... the one you both hate, and Bill was there." She hiccoughed a little and wiped at her eyes. "I think it has to happen... Something let me see it, bent the curse so I could see it and make it happen."

"What would have the power to do that?" Eric asked, not liking the sound if it one bit.

"Another God," Godric said softly. He looked up at Eric in wonder, "which means he still has it, and more importantly that we have to get it back."

Eric's eyes clouded over and he frowned. It had been hundreds of years since the God's had last had any real power in the world. The few immortals that were left kept to themselves, finding the folly of man at the most a moment's distraction. He had no desire to reintroduce that kind of complication into his life, ignoring completely the fact that it could restructure the world as they all knew it. "I am more interested in ensuring the nest's safety," he said at last. "Russell would not be above 'collecting' living beings if he felt they were of value. He will want Sookie and Cassandra for his 'collection', and that must not be allowed."

"Indeed. Cassandra... do you know where he is?"

"No," she answered softly, and then with great difficulty added, "but I can take you to where he'll find us. They're going back to Bill Compton's house... This man, Russell, he's very interested in a book he thinks he'll find there."

"He wont find it. We have it, but at least we know where he will be... I can have a small army," Eric was cut off when Cassandra doubled over and cried out, her own hands closing over her mouth to stifle the noise.

"NO!" She hissed angrily, in a voice that wasn't her own. "No army, no interference. No others!" Then she collapsed.

"What the hell was that?" Eric demanded, even as he went to his knee's to help prop the unconscious girl up against Godric's chest.

"You know no less than I." The older vampires attention was entirely on his lover, who seemed even more pale than usual.

"Is it a warning we can afford to ignore?" Eric asked after a moment's pause. "If the old ones are taking a hand in this, the consequences for us all could be extreme, for good or ill. As much as I do not relish the return of old powers and old ways... the boon for helping a God could well be Cassandra's freedom."

"I have considered as much." Godric looked deeply troubled as his hand smoothed Cassandra's hair back from her face. "She was always a distant Goddess anyway." He said, more to himself than anyone else. "Though I confess, if it were Hade's himself I'd be tempted to help him anyway if it would mean her freedom."

"Then it is settled." Eric stood and moved to a bookshelf, carefully swinging aside the entire thing to reveal a safe embedded in the wall. He opened it and retrieved a long-sword which he secured tightly around his waist.

"Thank you..." Godric whispered from the floor, still unable to take his eyes from her face.

"You would do the same for me."

As he knelt on the floor, cradling his lover in his arms, Godric could feel his tattoo's itching. The great stylised snake which writhed up his back to the base of his neck felt hot and agitated. The chain across his chest, the great yoke, felt heavy and uncomfortable for the first time in almost two thousand years. He knew, as he had known when he was alive, that he was called to service... he just hoped he was ready this time.

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**Teaser: next time on 'Ancient Children' – Is Godric's loyalty stronger than his love? What is the extent of Bill's betrayal, and more importantly, what power on Earth is stronger than the will of a mad God?**


	22. Shattering Illusions 22

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Bill sat uncomfortably straight in the ornate antique chair. Wickerwork wasn't the most comfortable material at the best of times and the hundred year old cushion was hopelessly thin. He glared openly at the werewolves who stood by the doorway, grinning at him hungrily.

"Now honestly that is no way to treat a guest, where are your manners?" Russell swept into the room wearing an expensive dinner suit and an air of effeminate exuberance.

"Why have I been brought here?" Bill demanded angrily.

"Now, now, now, Mr Compton, that is no way to address a King." Russell took a seat opposite Bill at the table and crossed his legs. "Such a promising young man as yourself should learn to observe the niceties, don't you think?"

"One's manners can be adversely affected by one's entertainment." Bill grated through clenched teeth.

"I understand completely, it's so hard to find good help these days." Russell clicked his fingers and a surly looking vampire entered the room. "Take the wolves out and beat them would you. I asked them to escort in a guest, not hog-tie a prisoner." He instructed calmly, and the vampire nodded and left. "I hope that goes some way towards mollifying your indisposition."

"Some way... I'd still be interested in knowing your designs on me. I am a subject of Louisiana..."

"Yeeeees, and that frivolous little Queen of yours might well be an empty-headed dolt, but she's not likely to have let you flounce off to a bum-fuck town in the middle of the swamp for no reason." The old vampire leaned back in his chair looking pleased with himself. "She'll be beside herself to know it was her own choice of errand boy that gave her away. Not even she could be so far gone as to allow someone as promising as you to drop off the edge of the world..."

"My move to Bon Temps was my own choice your Majesty. My old family homestead is there, and as there is no surviving descendent," he stopped when Russell started chuckling.

"You don't honestly expect me to buy that tripe? My question to you is simple, Mr Compton... does your Sheriff, and more to the point, his maker, know about your humans unique background?"

Bill stared hard at the King, fighting to keep his face impassive and not give anything way. He rapidly calculated how much to reveal, how much to hold back, how far he could push the truth... and exactly how much he was prepared to lie...

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Sookie stood alone in the kitchen nursing a mug of cold tea and staring down into it, guiltily grateful for Cassandra's sudden silence. Though the horses were better than the poor girls confused, tormented thoughts, even they began to grate on the telepath after a while. When she turned to lean against the counter, Eric was standing in the doorway, is face schooled to impassivity though he couldn't keep the turbulence of his mind completely out of his eyes.

"You startled me," Sookie mumbled, putting the mug down and looking at him nervously.

"That was not my intention, but we have to talk." He stopped and shook his head slightly, "or rather, I need to talk, and you must listen... When this is over, you will leave this nest, and not return." He spoke softly, calmly, and with a tight control which seemed enough to make his shoulders shake with the effort of it.

"What...?" Sookie gasped softly.

"I cant..." he shook his head again and allowed his eyes to meet hers, he looked tormented and angry and desperate and sad. "I can not have you around my family, Sookie. You're a danger to others, as well as yourself. You fail to grasp the simple realities of your situation and it will kill all who try to protect you!" He stalked forward and took a firm hold of her shoulders. "You read minds, Sookie! Knowledge is power and what you have everyone will want to take and yet you continue to wait tables in a hick bar and pretend to be a barely functional barbie! Your act might have worked when you were surrounded by stupid humans, but there are vampires and werewolves and all manner of other darkness on your playground now and you can't pretend there isn't!" He stopped shaking her to sigh, dropped his hands and moved away. "You invited that boy back here, with no thought what-so-ever to the dangers involved, to him and to us. You were thoughtless. I believed at first you might be callous or insensitive... but it's far worse than that. You simply will not accept that the world has become a dangerous place and that makes you an unjustifiable liability that I can not afford... however much I might wish it otherwise."

Sookie had tears in her eyes, and her bottom lip trembled as she looked up at him fearfully, the full implication of what he was saying began to register.

"I saw you admonish Compton for being inconsiderate of Cassandra, but think on this... during this time, the most terrifying she's known, you've cut her off from us completely. She can not talk to us, thanks to you, and now you are the only person she can communicate with." Eric backed off, pausing in the doorway but not looking back. "No one can help you until you start helping yourself, and my loyalty must be to my nest."

Then he was gone and Sookie sank to the floor, pulled her knees to her chest and began to cry silently. She had no idea how long she stayed like that, but after a while a cool, muscular arm hooked about her shoulders and tugged her sideways against a broad chest as Godric 'shh'ed at her gently.

"The shattering of illusions is always painful... but you needed to hear it I think." He said softly. Sookie could only sob softly and nod against his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I don't really believe he'd abandon you, Sookie." Godric told her, "certainly not if you really needed him."

"I've been really stupid..." she rasped, unable to force her voice to come out evenly.

"You've been innocent, Sookie." Godric sighed and smoothed her hair with one hand. "I have seen enough hate, enough anger and estrangement for no good reason. You're young, in a way that Eric and I haven't been in so long we barely remember it. Eric has given up being hopeful, I fear sometimes it will be another thousand years before he finds it again. I don't blame you," he said delicately. "Cassandra has given me to understand that Jessica's human friend must be with us tonight, in a way, you were fated to do what you did. Eric wasn't wrong precisely, but we can find a way for you to walk the line between precaution and optimism, if you want to."

She nodded and sniffed somewhat unattractively. "I thought I was a freak... the weirdest thing in the world." She whispered... "But I'm not. I'm not even close..." she looked up at him with red rimmed and puffy eyes. "I'm in a lot of trouble aren't I?"

"A moderate amount," he conceded. "But the more important question would be has it been worth it? Would you really go back to being a safe weird waitress and give up this strange little family of ours?"

"Probably not. I love Jessica and you and..." she blushed and looked away.

"When you can say it, everything will be alright again, but don't force it. There is still the question of Bill."

"I still don't think he'd betray me, Godric."

"I don't either, but I doubt very much that protection extends to Cassandra. He will give her up if he thinks it will get him you. You need to decide whether you think that's OK or not." He told her softly.

"Of course it wouldn't be!" She said quickly, putting her hands on his and holding them tightly. "I thought about what you said before, about him learning my boundaries. If he has handed her over, then he's not the man I thought he was... an' I don't wanna be with him."

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"How do you feel?" Eric asked, leaning over the uncomfortable looking leather couch in the library.

"Sick, and tired, like I just ran..." she tried to sit up but Eric put a hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

"Rest for a while. Godric is getting the others ready to go, you may not have the chance to be still again for a while. Here," he handed her a set of leather strapping with a half dozen knives in sheaths hanging from it. "The blades are all silver. You remember everything I taught you?"

Cassandra nodded, wide eyed and arched up to struggle into the strapping until it was secured around her shoulders, sides and waist. "Thank you."

"You're cloak should go on over it without to much trouble. You stay close to us,"

"I will." She found his hands and held them tightly. "I'm going to be all right, you know?"

"You can see that, can you?" He asked, amused.

"The same way every other girl does..." Cassandra leaned back against the sofa, wincing as the leather and sheaths dug into her. "We rely on our brothers..."

Eric's face remained expressionless, but he ruffled her hair with one hand before standing up. Cassandra shooed him away, laughing, before hugging her knee's up to her chest and looking up at him.

"Eric?" Gordic asked from the doorway.

"We're ready." Eric paused at the door to put a hand on his makers shoulder and Godric smiled up at him gratefully.

"You have won him over, I see."

Cassandra held her hands up and Godric came to sit beside her and let her lean forward and kiss him gently. "He loves you very much..."

"We are the same blood," He touched her face gently as smiled at her adoring gaze. "I hope very much that you'll still look at me like that in a thousand years time."

"Let's get through tonight first..." She took a deep breath. Godric sensed rather than saw her forcing her voice down deep into her chest, locking it away lest it escape and ruin everything. He couldn't begin to imagine what it was like to need to do that.

In the living room, Hoyt stood with his arm around Jessica's shoulders and a concerned and confused look on his face. "We're ready Mr Northman."

Eric nodded, "stay near him Jessica."

"I will," she promised. "I wont let anything happen to you, I promise." she said as she looked up at his face.

"Aint I 'sposed to be sayin' that to you?"

"You protect me from other stuff..."

Sookie couldn't help the tears she felt pricking her eyes. They were going to be alright, those two, she was sure. Somehow nothing in her life had even been that simple and uncomplicated, but she wondered, looking at the human and the vampire, if maybe that was he own fault? Things were as complicated or simple as you made them, you just had to make your choice and stick it out.

"Jessica will ride in the car with you, Sookie and Cassie," Godric told them. "Eric and I will run and fly alongside. When we get there, things may move rather quickly, Sookie you'll need to be ready should you need to translate for Cassie."

"I will be. What about the book? Should we bring it?" She asked.

"No. In fact when we return I'll burn it. That picture is a little too accurate for my liking." Godric said firmly.

.

The trip was deceptively quiet, at least for those in the car. The four sat in silence as Hoyt drove, more by instinct than attention. Outside, Godric was moody and quiet. His tattoo's itched and burned under his skin, as though they were new. Everything for two thousand years had built to this one night... he couldn't help wondering if somehow it had all been fated. Russell, Cassandra, even the ever volatile but intensely loyal Eric whom he found by such chance. Perhaps they were meant to be here, now. Perhaps more than one ancient wrong might be righted before the sun rose...

"You seem distant." Eric said carefully.

"Thinking deep thoughts. Two thousand years of haphazard searching and suddenly it all comes together with no effort at all..."

"Fate Godric? It's been centuries since you've spoken of such things." Eric pointed out.

"It's been centuries since I believed... enough time passed and even I began to believe it was all just superstition. But it wasn't, she's as trapped now as she was two thousand years ago." Godric looked at his child sadly for a moment. "I made you to help me kill him, because I knew I wouldn't be able to to it alone, and I knew you hated him as much as I did. I took your life from you Eric... selfishly... and I'm sorry."

"You took only death from me. I have had a thousand years, and you were right," he flashed his maker a cheeky grin. "I do love life!"

Godric chuckled softly. He had always been grateful for Eric's constant humour and resilience. As a man predisposed to introspection and dark moods, having Eric around was good for him.

"Have you considered that she might want you back?" Eric asked after a long pause.

"That seems unlikely. She'll leave to follow the others, as she would have done centuries go had she been free too. I was a passing fancy at best, and the truth is I'm not a boy any more... She wasn't attracted to my face, she was attracted to my youth." He glanced down at the car that rumbled along the road below them. "In any event, I wont leave Cassandra. I'm sure a goddess would have no trouble finding a new priest to adore her."

**Note: Sorry for the big gap! Christmas is insane! We're coming up on the end now though.**


	23. Heart of the Goddess 23

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_About Two Thousand Years Ago..._

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Godric stretched slowly. The tattoo's were finally complete, and the dull burning of them was strangely exhilarating. Later that evening, his father, the whole village in fact, would stand at the bottom of the temple steps and see him officially chosen as consort for the coming year. For the next twelve months he would hold a position of prestige unparalleled by any man in the village, and when it was over the next spring, he would be sent to house with the goddess permanently...

The setting sun turned the world a vivid and beautiful gold, and Godric admired it with a eyes not yet a man's though no longer a boy's. He felt no fear of his ultimate fate, indeed that was part of why he was chosen. Six months prior he'd been working in his father's fields, and the high priestess had come to speak to his father. Exactly what was said he would never know, but when she left she paused and touched his cheek gently.

"You truly are the most beautiful youth," She'd said with a smile much younger and more impish than her years. He'd set out to join her in the temple the next week. He hadn't been afraid, and his father's initial concerns had meant little to him, somehow, he'd always known he'd go to the temple.

"Are you ready?" Gwyn asked him gently.

She stood in the doorway to his room, smiling down at him. Gwyn had already been in the temple for three years, and after tonight, she would become the devotional object of the people... She would take the goddess into her body and stay with them for a year, ultimately to suffer the same fate as Godric when their time together was done.

"Are you?"

"I don't know that anyone is ever really ready." She blushed and looked away. As part of her preparation, Gwyn had never known the touch of a man. Something that would change later that night during the ceremony.

"Everything will be alright," he assured her. "By this time tomorrow we will both wonder what we were so nervous about."

The truth was that he wasn't nervous at all, he felt calm and certain of his own place, but Gwyn seemed so relieved by the idea that he shared her fears that he chose to play along. "I hope so." She flashed him a smile. "I should go, they'll be coming for us soon..."

Godric watched her go and wondered again at how things had come to this point. For all intents and purposes, before the night was over, he'd be married to that girl and they would have a year together, and after that, they'd have forever. The idea was strange to him, but comforting too. Gwyn had kind eyes and a gentle spirit, and Godric looked forward to whatever their future would be.

Time passed, and no one came for him. Eventually, Godric heard the high priestess screaming, and he ran from his chamber ignoring the protocols. The temple wasn't complicated and he emerged onto the stone landing and looked down the steps... Where the entire village should have been gathered, there were some dozens of strewn bodies, bleeding, some torn apart completely. He couldn't see what had caused the destruction exactly, but there at the bottom of the stairs, standing over the body of the high priestess and holding Gwyn by the throat was a man...

"Let her go!" Godric roared as he snatched a ceremonial spear from the podium and raced across the terrace.

Gwyn was whimpering, and shaking as the stranger reached out and snatched the emerald pendant from around her neck. "No!" She sobbed, crumpling to the ground when he dropped her.

"Fool boy," Russell flicked the spear aside negligently, and grabbed Godric by the throat, even as he kicked Gwyn away sending her tumbling down the stone stairs. "Lovely though..."

"You must give it back!" Godric struggled, tearing at the man's arms but to no avail. He began to panic, though not in his full growth yet, Godric had always been strong and yet that man who held him hardly seemed to notice. "Give it back!"

"Ahh... quaint little country people. What do I care for the paltry power of your back-woods gods? I am forever..." Russell pulled Godric in closer and bit savagely into his neck.

At the bottom of the stairs, Gwyn cried weakly. The ceremony wasn't finished... the goddess wasn't among them, she was coiled in the stone, the 'heart of the forest'. Her vision was already dimming, but she heard the wolves growling. Mercifully, she feinted.

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Godric clawed savagely at the earth around him in a panic until he finally gasped cold night air. "You slept over long." Russell was sitting on a log beside the shallow grave, his fingers laced together elegantly. "We have far to go before the sun rises again.

"I go nowhere with you!" Godric launched himself at the calm man only to be thrown like a rag doll against a near by tree.

"You can't hurt me, boy. Our blood is the same... and you will do as you're told."

In terror, Godric did the only thing he could think of. He snatched the ceremonial dagger from his belt, a wooden handle with a bronze blade embedded with flecks of silver. The cloaked man screamed and his flesh scorched where Godric slashed at his face.

"Ahh! Kill him!"

Godric ran. In his running he felt lighter, faster, as though the night simply moved passed him because he wished it and not because he strained with his muscles as he had always done before. Through the forest he ran, sometimes hearing the wolves chasing him, other times he seemed to lose them, until eventually he came back to his village... In the long hall, where the great moot took place, he could hear everyone gathered and without thinking barrelled right through the doors to everyone's horror. Some threw things at him, others screamed until his father rushed forward to take Godric into his arms.

"You're alive! The demon took you, we feared the worst!" He gushed, his gristled old hands patting his son down looking for wounds. "Godric...?"

The boy blinked up at his father owlishly, his skin was smooth and beautiful as ever, but unnervingly cool to his fathers fevered touch. "I don't think I am all right, father..." Godric said softly.

His father bustled him quickly back to the door and away from the others. "The demon...?"

"Alive and well in the woods... he commands the wolves. He's taken the heart of the forest, he holds her hostage." Godric told him quietly. "Gwyn?"

His father shook his head sadly. "Killed at the temple steps with the other priestesses. I'm so sorry my son..." Godric shook his head trying to clear it. "Godric, you can't stay here boy. The others are already rumbling, it's only a matter of moments before they work up the nerve to ask the question..."

Godric looked down at himself, flexed his hands curiously and then looked at his father's face. "I'm not the same... I can't stay here, can I?"

"No... you must go and get her back. Have faith, if you bring her back, perhaps she can undo what the demon has done?"

His father seemed so hopeful, and Godric smiled and nodded, but he didn't really feel it. Inside his chest, he felt no heart beating... there was no pain from the last nights exertions, he saw differently, heard differently... The terrible knowledge of what he had become was dawning on him, and he knew he had to get away from the village, for their safety as much as his.

"I will do what I can, but father..." Godric looked at him sadly and he saw his father's heart breaking. "Do not wait for me... Take this." He handed over the knife he'd used on Russell's face. "It hurt him..."

Godric did return to his village many times in his first hundred years. He visited the temple, Gwyn's grave, and finally the grave of his father. Eventually he couldn't bear to go back any more. He couldn't watch the temple slowly age and be abandoned because the goddess had left them. Instead he crossed Europe repeatedly, looking for the man who had destroyed his life...


	24. Coming of Age 24

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_ Now_

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Jessica sat beside Hoyt, half fretting, half exhilarated. Part of her wished he wasn't with them, though she trusted Godric and Eric, and if they said he needed to be there then she accepted that, much as it scared her. She glanced over her shoulder at Sookie and Cassandra where they huddled in the tiny back seat.

"I'm so sorry..." Sookie whispered.

_There's nothing for it now, Sookie_ Cassandra thought resignedly. _Part of me feels like... like something's coming. Something_ _pretty big, for all of us, and Hoyt has to be here. _The little prophetess smiled weakly. _I'm hopeful..._

"Godric's right, you know..." Sookie said quietly, feeling shamefully weak. "I think you really must be the strongest woman in the world..."

_You'll do all kinds of things when you have no choice..._ Cassandra's mind told her. _Sometime very soon, you might learn all about that._

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_I really couldn't say... I see things Sookie, I don't get detailed reports. _She looked out the window and up, trying to catch a glimpse of the vampires who flew along above them in the darkness. Clearly she remembered the night the nun had taken her to Godric's nest... she'd almost run. A dozen times between the car and the audience, she'd almost dashed for the relative safety of the night. Even after agreeing to stay with him, that first night she'd planned to slip away with the sunrise...but she hadn't. Sitting in a truck, speeding towards an encounter with a vampire who might be as old as she was, protected by three more of the walking dead, she wondered what power it was that had kept her on this path, because she was sure of one thing. She'd been too far gone to be this brave on her own...

"You stay behind me when we get there, OK?" Jessica said, slipping her arm around Hoyt's and hugging it tightly as he drove. "Jus' stay back an' stay safe."

Hoyt glanced down and thought about arguing with her, but bit back the urge. She was worried about him, he could get that, and weird at it seemed she was a lot stronger than he was. "It's gonna be fine, Jess, you'll see. Godric and Eric seem pretty capable."

"I jus' can't lose you... not again."

"Hey, I ain't goin' nowhere. It'll be alright." He wasn't sure how much of that he believed, but he was sure it was the right thing to say. "We're here... don't s'pose you know how long we've got?" He glanced at Cassandra over his shoulder.

She gave him a shy smile before looking at Sookie. _Not long... minutes only. The Vampire will wait... watch. It's the werewolves we'll have to worry about first._

Godric saw them stop, and could easily hear werewolves in the darkness. He gestured to Eric, who hovered protectively over the car. "You'll have to do something about Sookie soon, you know."

"No, she'll have to do something about me." Eric didn't meet his eyes.

"You're stubborn..."

"So is she..."

"I didn't say it wasn't a good match." Godric flashed him a small smile and Eric had to grin back.

There was something light, infectious, in his maker's eyes. Eric could see what Godric hoped; that the great failure of his life might be rectified, and his lovers terrible curse might be banished with the sunrise. For his part, Eric could only pray that Bill hadn't betrayed them, because if he had, he'd have to die and Sookie might never forgive him.

Under normal circumstances, werewolves were a problem. They were fast, strong and clever... the last problem was almost entirely mitigated by the addition of vampire blood. They came howling out of the tree's with no strategy or sense, and Eric was mildly irritated by how easy it was so swoop down and snap their necks... he left them where they dropped.

"Interesting..."Russell crooned softly. He stood posed theatrically on a gravestone with Bill on the ground beside him looking decidedly worried. "I know you, Mr Northman, you're reputation precedes you. You however, are still a baby... where are you, my child?" The ancient man looked around with a disturbing smile. "Come now, two thousand years and you're still pining for your quaint religion? Look at what I gave you in return!"

"You gave me death!" Godric landed lightly beside Eric, placing them both between Russell and the car. "You took everything from me..."

"Everything, Ha! You pathetic little hick, you'd have had a year with that strumpet and then they'd have killed you anyway! Slit your throat for the summer harvest!"

"It was our way!" Godric yelled back. "It was my honour to serve, and then to be with the Goddess forever."

"Still the incredulous child... I see now I should have chased you. I thought giving you time to cool down might make you wise, but you've clung to your own heathen superstition! There are no gods boy! Just us." Russell spat angrily. "You wont catch me off guard this time with your sneaky little dagger. In any event..." He seemed to regain focus and looked at the car. "Rumour has it that you have a pair of very interesting lady's in your care... holding out on daddy?"

"Our human companions are none of your concern." Godric said firmly.

"Yours? My, my, I was under the impression from Mr Compton here that the telepath belonged to him..."

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Sookie lurched out of the car only to be caught up in Eric's arms before she could storm across the graveyard.

"Ooohh, spirited, isn't she?" Russell laughed.

"Sookie, please." Bill stared at her with his heart in his eyes. "I am tryin' to salvage this situation as best I can..."

Sookie strained against Eric's arms, but the vampire could tell that she was only confident to do so because she knew he held her tightly. "Damn you... Damn you Bill Compton. What have you done?"

"You can stay with me... we'll both be protected. Please Sookie, this is what's best for all of us..."

"All of us? You think Godric's gonna see it that way?"

Bill held up his hands placatingly and looked at Godric, his eyes intense. "The King is merely curious... You have shown no interest in humans for several generations... what harm to let him look at your mute girl?" Bill emphasised the words carefully. "Once he sees for himself that she's perfectly ordinary, I'm sure he'll lose interest."

Russell nodded calmly, but there was something about his look that Eric didn't like. he kept his arms tightly around Sookie and glared at the older vampire across the graveyard. "Sookie was not Bill's to barter, I'm afraid." He felt her stiffen in his arms and gave her a squeeze in an attempt to keep her calm. To his surprise, she took the hint. "Miss Stackhouse is an independent contractor. More to the point she's an independent contractor who resides in my area, as such she is under my protection... not Mr Compton's."

"Risky..." Russell singsonged in amusement. "what's to stop her... seeking out a better offer." He said suggestively.

"A... not insubstantial part of Sookie's value to me is in her temperament..." Eric said carefully. "To try to change that would be folly. Our arrangement must be based on trust."

"How foolish. Well, Mr Compton... rebuttals?" Russell asked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Sookie... you don't understand what's happening here. Please,"

"You're begging it now? Interesting. Perhaps your grasp of this situation isn't as you portrayed?"

"She just doesn't understand, if I could just have more time..." Bill stammered, trying to calm things down.

"I think," the older vampire interrupted, "that we need to put all our cards on the table, hmm?" He grinned impishly and jumped at impossible speed over Godric and Eric to land on the roof of Hoyt's truck, half caving it in. "Out you come, little ones!"

From inside the cab, Jessica screamed and Hoyt kicked out the passenger drivers side door and tumbled free, pulling Jessica after him. "Oh look, another infant. Come on, little girl, let's have a look at you." He reached down and tore off the rear door and grabbed Cassandra by the foot, dragging her out and holding up her struggling form. "There you are."

Cassandra's eyes darted around, looking for a point of reference, until she saw Eric's face. He stared at her intently and then, he raised his chin and yelled "Now!" In a flash, Cassandra reached blindly inside her flailing cloak and pulled out the silver daggers and flexed her stomach as hard as she could, lashing out at the arm that held her.

Russell's arm sizzled angrily as the silver slashed deeply. He swore and dropped her, but Godric darted forward and caught her easily. Bill watched all this with a terrible sinking feeling in his stomach... all his plans... they could all have been safe if they'd just gone along... Cassandra clung to Godric's neck tightly and stared up at Russell in the shocking horror of recognition.

"You..." He sneered at her.

Godric looked down at her questioningly, but all she could do was stare back in fear.

"Oh I knew I'd find you again." Russell said menacingly. "I didn't know what you could do then, little witch, oh but I do now... I saw what happened to Rome when you opened your mouth... I'd hate to think you knew about this, Mr Compton, and failed to mention it to me."

Bill said nothing.

"I'll tell you what... you hand over the seer, and I wont slaughter your nest..." Russell said conversationally as Godric backed up.

_Sookie...stay with Eric. _Cassandra's voice said quite calmly in Sookie's mind... only it didn't sound like Cassandra at all. _Everything is going to happen rather quickly now..._

"It seems to me, Mr Compton, that your telepath might be just a touch hard to control. This one on the other hand looks about ready to roll over... but since I can't have anyone else controlling her..." A tiny, pistol sized crossbow apeared from under Russell's jacket and in one smooth motion, he aimed and fired at Sookie.

She'd never be exactly sure how it happened, but suddenly, Sookie was facing the other way, looking across the graveyard at Bill, whose expression was half relieved and half stricken. Eric still held her, and all the air rushed out of his lungs to flow coolly over her neck.

"Eric...?"

The huge man bore her down to the ground when his knee's gave out and her grunted painfully as he fought to keep his weight off her. "Stay still," he hissed against her ear, and she tremblingly complied... she couldn't see what was going on, but she could hear it.

"No!" Godric cried, pushing Cassandra back towards Jessica and Hoyt and launching himself up onto the ruined truck. He knocked the small weapon from Russell's hand and gripped his throat tightly with the other. "You will not destroy my life again..."

"You can't hurt me boy..." Russell's look was almost gentle, but his hand none-the-less snapped out and gripped Godric's neck tightly. "Come home with me... I'll let you play with her, if she means that much to you. You can even keep your barbarian progeny as long as you can control him. So beautiful..." He said wistfully.

Godric tightened his grip as far as he could, but the truth was that their blood was the same... he'd never be able to finish it, no matter how much he wanted too. After a moment, Godric felt his maker's grip loosen slightly and a confused expression crossed his face. "Boy...?" He started to ask, before turning to a pile of sludge. Behind where he had been, Jessica stood trembling terribly, still holding the small tree branch she'd used to stab the king in the back.

Stunned, they both looked down at where Hoyt held the trembling and nearly hysterical Cassandra gently, and in a sudden surge of divine inspiration, Godric could see what needed to be done. Ignoring the grime he bent down and retrieved the large emerald that Russell had worn on a gold chain around his neck and jumped down. "Eric?"

"Fine... go." Eric grated out, still hunched over Sookie.

"Eric...? I think I can move now..." she said softly.

"Slowly... don't jostle it."

"Don' jostle wha...?" She gasped when she turned. A small wooded arrow with a shiny silver point, sizzling with his blood, protruded from his chest perilously close to his heart. "Oh my God!"

"I need you to go behind me, and snap of the fletching..." he told her slowly.

"The what? Oh God... Jesus, Eric... you..."

"The feather's at the end. Sookie, focus. Go behind me and snap off the feathers at the end of the shaft... then I need you to pull the arrow out the front." He was breathing carefully, trying not to shift the arrow at all.

"Why can't I just pull it right back out the back?" She asked, her fingers trembling as she crawled around him to inspect the wound from the other side.

"Well... for one the tip is made of silver, and I don't want it going through me twice. Two... my heart is right around there somewhere, and pulling back would be against the grain of the wood. I have no idea how much wood needs to go through my heart for me to die, and I'd rather not experiment. Sookie... you can do this. Snap off the feathers." The noise he made when she did so was indescribable, and Sookie whimpered and gripped his shoulder tightly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"T's aright..." he grunted, half inaudibly. "It's all right..." After a moment to collect himself he gently pulled her around in front of him. "Pull smoothly..." He advised.

"Perhaps I should do this...?" Bill offered over her shoulder. To his credit he did seem genuinely concerned.

"You're a traitorous pig!" Eric hissed without looking up at him. "I promised Sookie your life, so long as you hadn't betrayed Cassandra, which technically, you didn't. That deal protects you only so long as you stay the FUCK away from me!" He calmed his breathing again and looked into Sookie's eyes. "I trust you... grip firmly, pull smoothly. We can even cuddle after." He added with a raised eyebrow.

Sookie resisted the urge to smack him in the shoulder, but she did let out a nervous and slightly hysterical chuckle. With all her heart she wished Bill wasn't standing over her shoulder watching her do this, but there was nothing for it now. As carefully and smoothly as she could, she pulled the arrow through his chest, ignoring the rumbling growl of pain as she did so. What surprised her was the little fountain of blood at erupted once the jagged end had cleared the wound.

"Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit, Eric? Eric, what do I do?" She used her body to prop him up and tried to look at his face... He looked back, pale and ill-looking. "Oh crap... Ok... Ok, Ok, Ok." She wriggled as best she could until his face was pressed into her neck.

His mouth pressed against her skin and his breath tickled her ear. Somewhere behind her, Bill was protesting, but then she started to get light headed and it took a moment to realize he'd bitten her and she'd barely felt it.

.

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**NOTE: One more chapter should wrap up the story. This one was just getting a little long, and there is a LOT of stuff going on all at once so this seemed like a good place to pause.**


	25. And they Rise 25

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"Sookie?" She opened her eyes and the world was in soft focus. Eric's face hovered above her and through the fog he seemed to glow faintly. "How do you feel?"

"At leas' at the blood bank... you get juice an' a cookie." She mumbled.

Eric chuckled and the vibration shook her, it had taken her that long to realise he was seated on the grass cradling her against his chest. "I should have paid more attention," he apologised, "I didn't realise you hadn't eaten... Once we get moving I'll find you some food."

"Look at you all... sweet an' savin' my life..." she frowned blearily and looked past him, where Godric was crouched beside Cassandra, obviously trying to coax her out of her cloak. The girl had wrapped herself up tight and was cowering against a headstone. "She's havin' a bad night..."

"I believe so. In fairness to us, I've been shot, and you lost quite a bit of blood."

"I think you need to help..." she gestured weakly and Eric gently lay her back on the grass.

"I will be back," he assured her.

"I know..." she gave him a weak smile and he flashed her a cheeky smirk. When he turned to leave, she managed to grab his ankle making him stop and look down, frowning in concern. "I... I think I need help too... please..."

Eric sighed, "I'll never be free of you..." he crouched back down and smoothed her hair back from her worried face. "We can discuss it later. Rest now Sookie... I will return in a moment."

Sookie let her head loll to the side and watched Eric scuttle across the grass to crouch opposite Godric by Cassandra's huddled form. "All right, little sister. What's the meaning of this?"

Godric looked across at him and sighed. "It's too much... she wont listen to me." He looked seriously at his child. "She has to speak. Please beloved... you must tell him who you are. We can end this, all of it."

With a sceptical frown Eric looked from Godric to Hoyt, who stood blinking foolishly and, apparently unable to move. Transfixed like a bug on a board by powers he couldn't even begin to fathom, all Hoyt could do was stand there and stare at the poor terrified creature... God, she was so scared of him. Seeing it made him feel dirty and monstrous. What was he, that he should make her feel that way? "Are you sure about this?"

"You've trusted me faithfully for two thousand years, Eric. Believe me now! It's not enough for him to be told, she needs to say it... one last act of defiance... please dear one, wont you at least look at me?" He hunkered down lower trying to find her eyes, when the stone he still held throbbed hot in his hands. "It's not enough... we didn't have enough time... she hardly knows us..." he looked around desperately until his eyes fell on Hoyt and again, the stone flared hot in his grip. Godric looked sharply at Eric, his eyes wide. "The god's don't play dice with the world... if we're not enough then there has to be something else. Look at him... really look. Where would you say his family is from?"

Eric looked at Hoyt's confused face and shrugged. "American's come from everywhere, they may as well come from nowhere. I doubt even he knows where..." he stopped and cocked his head to one side speculatively.

"You see it don't you!" Godric said triumphantly. "Cassie... you don't have to speak, just look at him. Dear one, look at his face. Look and try to remember!" Wild, dark eyes peaked up and stared at Godric's face, but he gestured to Hoyt. "You've waited three thousand years to see him again... Look."

Cassandra's eyes widened and her hands covered her mouth reflexively to keep any sound from escaping, but she could see then what Godric saw... He'd had longer hair, and all Trojan men wore beards, but she could see it now. Eric took her hand and she looked at him, shaking terribly with tears wetting her face. "It's time to be brave now, little sister..." He whispered.

A few yards away, Sookie's vision blurred again and a rush of memories that weren't her's filled her mind. _It's time to be brave now, little sister_. The tiny princess, all of six years old, sat astride a beautiful dark horse which pranced nervously under her. One large, powerful hand held the reigns, while another rested against the small of her back. When she looked up, the image was blurred... Eric and Hoyt and some third, older man with Hoyt's face occupied the same space but she loved him/them... trusted him/them.

"_You are a princess of Troy._" The strange amalgamation told her. "_Once you both understand that, you'll get on fine._" His hand fell away from her back and he let go of the reigns. "_Time to be brave now, little sister!_" Little Cassandra kicked at the horses flanks and leaned far forward against his neck and the horse took off up the beach.

Hector had watched, bursting with pride as her ecstatic laugher had echoed off the sand and the ocean, his face somehow Hoyt's, and Eric's at the same time through her confused memory.

"He's been waiting for you too," Eric told her gently. "Be brave, just one more time."

"I..." she coughed a little, and Hoyt felt a sudden clenching in his guts, the beginning of something awful. Cassandra Squeezed her eyes closed tightly, "I am Cassandra!" Something broke inside her and she found she couldn't stop. "I am the youngest daughter of Priam! I am the prophetess of Troy!"

Hoyt clutched at his stomach and hunched his shoulders over as something vile and evil tried to coil itself deep inside him. "No... Jesus... stop it!" He gasped, losing the strength in his legs and dropping to his knees. Cassandra watched him with wild eyes, her breath heaving and burning in her chest as though she were running, fighting this battle with him. "No... please," he fell forward onto his hands, his shoulder shaking violently. "I wont... Christ... I can't..." he looked up at her helplessly, tears streaming openly down his face. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

Cassandra's heart broke as she watched him... after a few moments his stomach heaved and he threw up. She lurched forward and put her hands on his shoulders. "It's all right..." she whispered brokenly. "It's all right... I forgive you..."

Without knowing he'd been waiting, Godric saw his sign and slipped the heart of the forest around Cassandra's neck, even as Hoyt reeled back and screamed in a voice that wasn't his "NO!" Impossibly fast, Hoyt was on his feet, his face a sneer but his eyes wild and confused, as though the southen boy looked out from someone else's body. Eric made to rise and place himself between them but Godric stopped him.

"Look..." He said softly.

Cassandra too was standing, her feet inches above the ground and a gentle glow coming from her skin. "It's over, little brother. Time to go..."

"She's mine!" Hoyt's voice snarled angrily.

"She was never yours... not for one moment in the last three thousand years. She went mad rather than give herself to you. You've embarrassed yourself, and the rest of us, more than enough." Cassandra's voice told him. "You and I are the last, Apollo... come with me."

"No!"

Cassandra's face sighed and she glanced down at Godric who's eyes were wide in wonder. "He'll come... whether he likes it or not. I don't have the power to heal you, Godric... not any more, but I can give your family something..." She touched his face gently. "Cassandra and Hoyt have been the last worldly vessels of the last of the gods. I can leave them our grace..."

"Thank you, my Lady..." Godric breathed.

"You're still the most beautiful boy I have ever seen." She smiled at him gently then turned back to the snarling, fuming Hoyt. The Emerald around her neck shattered and the fragments surged forward, through Hoyt and out the other side. Apollo's dying scream shook the trees, and the force of having him torn out sent Hoyt back to his knee's. The prophetess landed lightly on her feet and though she looked confused, she seemed quite calm and hurried to Hoyt's side and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. Godric and Jessica cried openly, while Eric's face remained an impassive mask, though his hands were gripped tightly together to maintain his control.

"What did that mean?" Jessica asked softly, afraid to break the silence. "The thing about the grace?"

"It's what makes them immortal," Godric told her, matching her whisper. "As long as there is a single person left to adore them... they'll live forever."

"But... I thought that was Cassandra's curse to start with?"

"No," Godric shook his head slowly. "Her curse was that she was alone..."

Eric's eyebrows knit together angrily when he turned to see Bill crouched beside Sookie, talking to her quietly. In three quick strides he had the younger vampire by the throat.

"Eric... I'm all right." Sookie said, trying to sit up.

"Bull shit. Your entire relationship is based on the fact that he can't help manipulating you when you're weakest!"

"I would never hurt her..." Bill started only to be shaken into silence.

"What do you call all this? Christ, you're two nieve pea's in a fairy tale pod! Did you explain anything? Anything at all about thi life to her? Did you ever once mention werewolves, Banshy, fuck, does she even understand that we just killed a vampire king? Does she have any idea what that means?" Eric demanded angrily.

"I thought there was time... she was so innocent..."

"You mean ignorant! Your presence in her life is poison and you've kept her too blind to even see it! Get out. She's a bleeding heart soft-touch, I'm sure you'll get your chance to bullshit your way out of this, but not until she's recovered. I can at least ensure she has a clear head..." He tossed Bill backwards and stooped to scoop Sookie up in his arms.

"Eric..."

"Don't argue Sookie. Go back to him if you want, but go back clear headed." He cut her off.

She wrapped her arms up around his neck and held on. "I was going to say thank you..."

The car was wrecked, and more than wrecked. Hoyt looked at it sadly, "do you think my insurance cover's act of crazy-ass vampire?" he asked Jessica.

"No matter," Godric said with a wave of his hand. "Eric and I will run it into a suitably sized tree. No one will be able to tell the difference." He held Cassandra's hand and watched her... watching everything else. There was a fresh clarity in her eyes that made her look even younger. "How do you feel?"

"Awake..." she said softly, turning to regard him, though her other hand was still firmly held in Hoyt's grip and neither seemed to really notice. "It's all... It's fading, like a nightmare once you're awake. You know something awful happened but, perhaps it's best if you don't know exactly what... I was mad, wasn't I?"

"If that's the word you want to use. I hope you weren't too far gone..." he looked at her seriously and she blushed prettily.

"No... not too far gone..."

Godric and Eric were true to their word, and ran Hoyt's car into a huge old tree. Eric had wanted to put it through Bill's front wall, but Godric hald talked him out of it and assured the others that the viking was at least half joking. With the car gone, they ran, each vampire carrying a human, but even so it didn't take them long to reach the Shreveport house.

"It's all different," Hoyt said, standing in the front yard. "Everythin's jus'... different." He let Jesscica go inside and stood beside Cassandra unsure what to say. He knew her, in a way he couldn't put his finger on, he'd always known her. "This is kinda weird."

Cassandra shrugged, "I'm three thousand years old... everything seems weird to me. I think we'll be OK though."

"Yeah... me too. So uh... how does this while Demi-god thing work?"

"How should I know? I've been insane most of my life."

Inside, Eric took Sookie into his room without really thinking about it and put her on the bed. "Juice?"

"Mmm, orange please." She seemed better, more clear headed, but very tired. When he returned moments later with the glass she drank it down and lay back, closing her eyes. "What do you think I should do, Eric?"

"Stop asking people that question... Never ask opinions Sookie, not unless you truly trust someone. Gather all the information you can and then make your own choices. It **is** still your life."

"But I can't live it that way anymore, you said so!" She half sat up to see Eric shaking his head.

"No, I said if you did you couldn't be here anymore. That's my choice to make. We can't have you associated with our nest if you're going to be a danger magnet with no thought of others... but you're free to go back to the bar and serve beer to hicks and pretend you're just like them until it finally catches up with you." He sighed and stood. "I've done as many favours as I can for you, Sookie. By rights I should kill Bill for what he's done... he brought trouble to my area, gave his loyalty to another monarch, and yet he is alive, because you wish it. I cannot protect you from the reality of your situation."

"I don' understand any of that stuff..." she confessed slowly. "Bill never... he didn' like talkin' about it. Eric?" She looked up at him, "will you teach me? Please?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. An association with my nest has it's own consequences and demands, to many to speak on now, and no doubt you will want to argue about them." He was smiling slightly as he said it and Sookie bit back the urge to do just that. "Assuming we can come to an agreement, then yes, we will help you."

.

The humans all passed out; Sookie in Eric's room, Hoyt and Cassandra on the couch. The three generations of vampires stood just outside the back door watching the stars quietly. "I thought I'd feel different," Jessica said softly. "I killed someone..."

"It was a good kill." Eric murmured.

"I would never have been able to defeat him, Jessica." Godric told her. "Our blood is too close, just as you would never be able to kill Mr Compton... It is a sadness that our biology expects a bonding between maker and child that sometimes is simply absent."

"Bill's an asshole." Jessica grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps he is simply young..."

"No, she's right, he's an asshole." Eric interrupted his maker's thought and Jessica giggled when he grinned at her.

"As you say... but then, without him, would it have been possible to remove all the major obstacles to our happiness in a single evening?" Godric asked sagely.

"That man is a major obstacle to my happiness." Eric muttered darkly, Godric ignored him and Jessica continued to giggle.

.

O_ne week later_

Hoyt pushed open the door to Merlott's and held it while his strange new family entered. He wore his usual jeans and boots, though his button down shirt was clean and pressed, and should anyone care to check, somewhat more pricey than his usual wal-mart selection. As the door swung closed, Jessica took his arm, looking crisp and lovely in her bright yellow summer dress. Behind them walked Godric and Cassandra, their arms linked tightly. Both wore white linen and seemed sickenly bright and cheerful. Eric and Sookie brought up the rear and with no interest in ceremony at all, Eric wore his black leather pants and a black t-shirt with Rocky Horror lips on it while Sookie wore her work outfit.

Head held high, Hoyt led them towards the back of the room, where his mother sat in a booth sipping at an iced-tea. "Hoyt! Where've you been? You're tryin'a drive you're momma to an early grave!"

"Momma, please calm down, you're makin' a scene." He shushed her.

"Mrs Fortenberry... you said once that you wonted to meet my people..." Jessica said carefully. "Truth is, my human family wasn' that great anyway, but I got a new family now. Hoyt an' I thought maybe, if you met them, well it might be a way for you to get to know me a little better..." Hoyt and Jessica stepped aside and Eric gave Mrs Fortenberry a half-hearted salute. "Eric's sorta like my brother... he runs a business is shreveport." Jessica said quickly.

"Oh really? What business might that be?"

Eric grinned and his fangs popped out. "I own the vampire bar..."

Mrs Fortenberry jumped slightly and looked from Hoyt to the strange group with him and back trying to gague exactly how much she could get away with saying.

"Anyway, Mrs Fortenberry, I'd really like you to meet Godric, and his fiancé, Cassandra. Godric adopted me..." Jessica continued.

Godric bowed and Cassandra curtsied gracefully. "It is a pleasure to meet you," Godric said formally. "We are very proud to be acquainted with your son."

"If you'll pardon my sayin' so," Mrs Fortenburry said in a tone that said plainly she didn't care one way or the other if she was pardoned, "but you both seem very young to be adoptin' anyone!"

Cassandra laughed softly and Godric smiled at her before answering. "In truth, I am a little over two thousand years old... and while it isn't polite to quote a lady's age, suffice to say, the Lady Cassandra is something of a cradle robber." His eyes twinkled brightly as Cassandra giggled at him. "I assure you, between us there is more than enough experience to assist Jessica in becoming the mature and wonderful woman we are confident is in her future. Hoyt has been a blessing in this difficult time, he is a truly remarkable man."

Cassandra moved forward and took Hoyt's mother's hands tightly in her own. "Your son is the very best of men... you must be a remarkable woman to have raised him so." She said.

After that, Mrs Fortenberry didn't know which way was up. Godric and Cassandra were quite showering in their praise, while Eric leaned against the booth and glanced about indifferently, pausing only to sneer occasionally at any patrons who try to give them dirty looks.

"This actually could be goin' a lot worse..." Hoyt pointed out.

"I know... I jus'... she aint never gonna like me."

"Jess, she ain't never gonna like anybody. Hell, I'm not even sure she likes me! We done the right thing, what happens after that's outta our hands. We tried, an'at means we now get to be happy an' have a good time. Now... come dance with me, beautiful." He took her hand and led her over to be closer to the music while she giggled girlishly.

"Would you excuse us?" Godric asked Hoyt's mother politely before offering his hand to Cassandra. "If you would?"

Cassandra's giggle was no less girly, and Godric spun her easily onto what passed for a dance floor. "This is a positively awful woman..." she whispered against his ear.

"Some people just need to be miserable. Bear her no mind."

After a while, Sookie came past and paused next to Eric to watch the two couples dancing. "I think thats the nicest thing I've seen in a long time..." She said.

Eric flashed her a wicked smile and bowed deeply, offering her his hand. "M'lady...?"

"Eric," she half protested half laughed. "I'm working!"

"I'm sure, should a hick need beer, he'll find a way to get your attention. Dance with me."

Sookie's hand slid into his large cool one smoothly and soon, three couples moved with preternatural grace, to music that wasn't very good... and everyone in the bar felt that in some way, they were watching the beginning of something.

.

.

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**The End.**

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	26. Acquiescence and Altitude 26

Sookie took a deep breath and smoothed down the front of her work shirt. Eric waited at the bottom of the steps. It had taken all of her eloquence to convince him to wait outside, he didn't trust Bill as far as he could spit, but she needed to do this on her own. Maybe Eric was right and she was a stupid bleeding heart? With a slightly trembling hand she knocked on the door and when there was no answer, she shouldered it open and went in.

"Bill...?" She called softly. He didn't answer, but she could see him sitting on the couch with a true blood bottle dangling from his fingers. "Bill, are you OK?"

"Define 'Okay'." He mumbled.

"You jus'... I dunno, no one's seen you for a while an'... I wonted to make sure you were OK. Explain..."

"Explain what, Sookie?" He knew he sounded testy, but he couldn't help it.

"Why I can't see you any more..." She said softly. "I jus' can't Bill. I need to start thinkin' about how I'm gonna get by now. I'm never really gonna be safe again, am I? I gotta,"

"I would keep you safe." He interrupted her.

"Like you kept me safe with Russell? Jesus Bill! I am not gonna live my life in service to some crazy-ass vampire! Not ever!"

"But you'll serve Eric." Bill said bitterly.

"I don' 'serve' him, or Godric. They're my friend's Bill, and they're a lot more honest with me than you've been!" She was almost yelling by the end and had to take a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, I jus' didn' wonna leave it like it was, OK. I... I did love you. I do love you, if I'm honest, but I can't trust that feeling. You made sure'a that."

"And Godric's human? Controlling both of you ensures Godric and Eric can rule the world, you realise that?"

Sookie shook her head at him. "You don't understand Bill, they don't control me, and they certainly don't control Cassandra. No one's gonna be controlling her ever again..."

"What do you mean?" He raised his head and frowned at her.

"Far as I can tell, she's kinda like a God now... her an' Hoyt. I didn' really follow all of it, but from what I gather, Hoyt is like, the reincarnation of Cassandra's older brother. Somethin' like that anyway, so when she told him who she was, he couldn' hurt her. Even with the curse tearing him apart, somethin' inside him remembered... that forced what was left of Apollo to try to make him kill her, only Godric's Goddess stopped him first. Anyway, bein' the 'last worldly vessels of the Gods' or some such, somethin' got left behind. Now, as long as they have at least one person left to love them, they can' die..." She smiled somewhat wistfully. "So Godric an' Cassandra, and Hoyt an' Jessica get to be together forever... isn' that great?"

"And you and Eric as well, I suppose."

"Bill, you cut that out!" Sookie yelled and stamped her foot. "Don' you dare try to make it out like I'm leavin' you for someone else! I'm not leavin' you for Eric, I'm leavin' you for me. You violated me Bill... an' you don't even see it. I don' believe you wonted to hurt me, I know you loved me in your own way, but anythin' we could'ave had, you destroyed... **IF** I end up with anyone from now on, it's gonna be on my terms."

She sighed and got herself back under control. "I didn' want this to turn into a fight... I'm jus' gonna go, this was a bad idea."

"He's waiting outside for you," it wasn't a question. "I can smell his smug satisfaction from here."

"Yeah well in fairness he doesn' like you either," she pulled the door open to leave, only to find Bill standing close behind her.

"Stay..." his voice sounded in her ear and for just a moment she felt the compulsion to obey.

"No Bill... I told Eric before we came not to let me stay here. If you try to make me, he'll make sure you fail..." She said softly.

"You think I'd hurt you?" Bill sounded hurt.

"I don' think you'd hit me, but that's not the same thing..." She sighed and stepped through the doorway. "I'm sorry you're hurtin' Bill, I am, but I gotta start bein' smart... I loved you like a little girl, all stary-eyed an' stupid. I wont be doin' that again."

At the bottom of the steps, Eric was waiting for her with his arms folded across his chest and a cool frown firmly fixed on his face. Bill stood in the doorway and glared down at them, the true blood bottle still dangling from his fingers like a long-neck beer.

"Ready?" Eric asked.

"Don' be like that, I know you heard every word." She looked up at him defiantly.

"Do you regret it?" He asked.

"Not yet..."

Shaking his head slightly, Eric held out his hand to her. She took it and stepped up onto his feet, letting him wrap his arms around her and hold her close to his chest. "It will get easier." He said to the top of her head.

"You're rubbing this in aren't you?"

"Perhaps. A man must have some pleasure in life, even if he's dead."

"You're a real Ass sometimes, you know that?"

"It's been suggested a time or two, perhaps." He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "I ask you this, however... if sparing Bill's feelings was so high on your list, why didn't you ask to walk out of sight before allowing me to carry you?"

They floated at a far more leisurely pace than usual, as Eric knew the break-neck speed he usually preferred made her nervous. As such there was no roaring wind to provide Sookie an excuse not to answer.

"It wasn't to _hurt _him!" She insisted. "I just..." she looked away over the tops of the tree's beneath them and marvelled at how unafraid she was. "Bill just does stupid stuff sometimes when it comes to me and... I felt safer knowin' you were there, alright? I knew if I tried to just walk off on my own he'd chase me, this way..."

"Shhh..." Eric put his cheek on her hair with a contented smile, and while holding her to him with one arm, used the other hand to cover her mouth gently. "That's enough."

"You don't want me to explain?" She asked in slight irritation. "You _did _ask."

"I don't want you to say anything else. I stopped listening after 'I felt safer knowing you were there'... it'd be impolite of me to let you continue when I'm not listening."

"Tool." she mumbled, making Eric chuckle softly above her.

"I can live with that, as long as I'm the one who's holding you."

"Eric," Sookie said warningly, "you're not 'holding' me. We're going somewhere, there's a difference. I'm not _with _you Eric, not..." She paused.

"Not yet?"

"Shut up."

"As you wish, beloved." Eric waited, but she said nothing more. Didn't hit him. Didn't pull away. He chose to believe that this was an indication more of her acquiescence than their altitude.


End file.
